The Pieces That Fit Together
by laurzz
Summary: DannyLindsayLucy. A series of random song inspired oneshots from all seasons.
1. Don't Stop Believin'

**A/N: Hi girlys! So, while I was listening to music the other night, I realised how many of my songs would make super little stories; so for the past two nights - in celebration of handing in two of my assignments, I've been writing a bunch of oneshots. They're super random and will probably jump in time, but I will try and make it so that it isn't that confusing. The oneshots will just be tiny little things. I've tried to make them relate to the song I note at the top of the oneshot; and hopefully you'll all know the songs I use! **

**I really hope there's some of you still out there, and you're not fed up of all my stories nowadays! **

**So, I hope y'all enjoy this little mix of fluff, angst and general DLLness. **

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**This one is set somewhere in season 2. **

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**Don't Stop Believin' – Journey. **

"_Just a small town girl, livin' in a lonely world." _

"_Just a city boy, born and raised in South Detroit."_

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Lindsay Monroe let out a sigh as she threw her bag down on her floor.

Working side by side with Daniel Messer every day was slowly going to drive her insane. She was positive. She understood that yes she was from Montana, and he had all these visions of her country lifestyle and blah, blah, blah.

It did not however give him the permission for him to be an absolute moron 24 hours of the day, seven days a week.

She was sick to her back teeth of hearing the word Montana being used as a nickname. She felt like her pigtails were being pulled on the playground.

Mac overlooked Danny's advances and teasing. Sheldon kept himself to himself; likewise with Stella. The ME, Sid, encouraged him by going on that he had a crush on her. Adam? Lindsay was positive that he and Danny sat down to come up with ways to wind her up. It was days like this that left her feeling like the small town girl that she was, living in a lonely city all on her own. Which was funny; how a city of eight million could leave you feeling like you were alone in the world, was beyond her.

She snapped up as her kettle boiled, not even realising that she'd turned it on. She poured the steaming water as she made herself a cup of tea, desperate to unwind and de-stress.

What wound her up the most was that Danny was perfectly pleasant. All day.

All day she had to put up with his 'Montana'. All day she had to put up with him bringing her cups of coffee. All day she had to put up with him... She settled against the counter for a second.

Why was she mad again?

Her cell phone vibrated in her pocket, and she was filled with dread. She couldn't bear another ten hour shift; if she was lucky!

She pulled it out of her pocket and rolled her eyes at the caller. "Monroe."

"You always answer the phone with Monroe?"

"What do you want, Danny?" she sighed. "You're missing me at work already?"

"Ha-ha," he laughed sarcastically. "Yeah, that's why I'm calling."

She rolled her eyes, despite their locations on opposite sides of the city. "Seriously, what's up?"

"I miss you at work," he said as if it was completely obvious. As if he was completely serious.

She stopped mid-step. "I'm sorry, what?"

There was silence for a minute or two before she heard some embarrassed shuffling. "I don't know; it seems that you're not here now... I just wanted to check in and make sure you got home alright."

"I got home fine," she smiled, her tone becoming friendlier. His genuine concern, although random, decompressing her previous mood.

"Good. No trouble on the subway?"

"The usual drunken hobo stumbling around, the cat lady rushing to get home to feed her eighty seven cats, but what else is new?"

Danny chuckled.

A bubbling rose inside of Lindsay. She could feel her mouth opening and the words spilling out of her, but she couldn't stop them. "What time are you finishing?"

"Eight," he sighed. "Two hours."

She hesitated for a moment. "Well, I rented a movie last night and didn't get chance to watch, you're more than welcome to come watch it if you want when you finish work."

"You sure, Montana?" He asked, surprised. "I mean, I'd like that but can you really handle me at work an' then at your place too?"

"I'd like the company." She smiled down the line.

"Alright, sounds good. I'll bring a pizza or something?"

"Sounds great."

"See you around a quarter to nine?"

Despite his inability to see her, Lindsay nodded. "See you then,"

They both disconnected the line and Lindsay blinked at her messy apartment.

Suddenly, she didn't feel like that small town girl, alone in the city of eight million.

She felt like the girl that was beginning to see a different side to that city boy.

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**Thanks for reading - I hope you tune in for the others! Your comments are muchly appreciated - they always make my day!! :)**


	2. Broken

**A/N: Wow, thank you all so much for your lovely reviews and kind feedback - and the alerts. I'm glad you all enjoyed that one. I think it's safe to say Don't Stop Believin' is an epic classic! - Now it's just an epic Glee song!**

**I do hope you all continue to enjoy these little oneshots; I'm not sure how many there will be as of yet, but they'll be a fair few because I have a massive list of songs I love for DL and think would work well.**

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**This one is set during season 3, after the LRC conversation. **

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**Broken, Lifehouse**

"_I am damaged at best, like you've already figured out. I'm falling apart. I'm barely breathing."_

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His eyes strained to see the clock that was sitting happily on the stand by his bed. Happy however, was an emotion Danny was currently struggling to get to. He blinked once again. Three thirty? Someone was out of their damn mind! Who in the hell would be at his door at such a ridiculous hour?

He growled as he swung his feet over the side of his bed, cursing the person that woke him from his slumber. He wasn't a morning person; especially when it barely qualified as morning, and he'd got in from work an hour previous.

Stomping through his apartment, he held down the speaker button, connecting his place with the intercom downstairs on the street. "What?!"

"DANNY!"

He stared at the wall for a minute before pressing the button down again. "Lindsay?"

"Hiiiiiii."

"Are you drunk?"

"Me d'unk? I don't ever get drunked. I don't know what you're talking about." She scowled, finishing with a hiccup.

"Stay right there." Danny instructed as he grabbed his keys. "I'm coming down to get you."

"NO!" She bellowed down the intercom. "Shhhh!"

He sighed. "Lindsay; wait there, alright?"

"NO!" She bellowed again. "I just wanted to say hi. I said hi. Go back to..."

Danny stalled with his front door open for a moment; waiting for her to finish her sentence. He gave her five seconds before counting to a final ten. It was then he took off down his hallway and to the stairwell, taking the stairs two at a time to get down to the bottom floor.

When he reached the lobby of his apartment building, he could see her slumped on his building's top step. He let out a sigh of relief that she hadn't stumbled or anything that would injure her.

He carefully opened the door and took a seat next to his well dressed drunken monkey of a co-worker as she slumped on his front step, him in his boxer shorts and old college jersey. "Linds?"

She turned to face him and held a finger to her lips. "Shhh! You'll wake Danny. He lives here!!"

Rolling his eyes, he pulled her to his side. He was propping her up with his own body was what he told himself; but really, he just wanted a chance to hold her; even if it was for a moment.

"Lindsay, what are you doing?"

"I came to see Danny." She informed the man himself. "I think... between you and me, I hurt his feelings."

"Oh yeah?" he asked as he ran his fingers down her bare arm. "What makes you say that?"

Lindsay narrowed her eyes and stared at Danny sideways for a moment. "Remind me who you are? Didn't I tell you to get fucked about an hour ago?"

Despite his worry for her, he smiled. He could doubt her time and time again. He could tell himself that she needed someone to protect her, but really, Lindsay Monroe was _more_ than capable to look after herself, and then a little. This was if he was to take away the fact she'd gone and got herself absolutely wasted.

"No, it's me... Danny."

"Danny!" Lindsay exclaimed as she let her head fall to his shoulder. "HI! I was coming to see you!"

"Really?" he asked, humouring her. "What were you coming to see me for?"

She giggled. It was a drunken giggle; a giggle that was different to anything Danny had heard from her before. "Sex."

He sat back and blinked. "Lindsay?"

She leant forwards and held her head in her hands. "I'm a little bit drunk." She admitted.

"Really?" he sighed sarcastically; slightly worried and concerned for his friend. "Linds, can I ask you something?"

"Sure!" she smiled brightly as she snapped up and faced him. "What do you want to know?"

"What's going on with you?" As soon as he asked her, she dipped her head down the face her knees. He hooked his index finger underneath her chin and directed her face back to face his own. "Lindsay, talk to me."

"I can't." She whispered. "I don't... I can't..."

"Lindsay, this isn't you. You don't get wasted and show up on my door at three am. How you got here is actually beyond me. I'm worried about you, Lindsay. There's something going on."

"There isn't... I just have... It's nothing."

"You're lying to me." Danny said gently, "And we both know it."

She ran her fingers through her hair and let a sigh that sounded as if she was close to tears. "I can't." She whispered.

"Why not?" he pleaded. "Linds, you know I'm here for you."

She sighed as she snuggled into his side.

"Montana, I..."

"I don't want to have to do it." She whispered. "I don't want to see... I don't want to..."

"Do what, Linds? What don't you want to do?"

She shook her head.

"For Christ sake, Lindsay!" Danny snapped. "You're pushing me away, you show up drunk at my place. What the HELL is going on with you?"

"I thought you said you'd be here for whatever I need." She sniffled. "I thought...-"

"So what? You need drunken sex? What the f-..."

"Don't you get it?" She sniffled as she backed away from him. "Don't you... don't you get it?"

"I don't know what I'm supposed to get, Lindsay. Everything's a secret nowadays. I have to be a mind reader to try and figure out how to act around you. You're jumpy at scenes, you're crying, you're pushing me away. Where did the Lindsay go that I used to get on with? Where did the Lindsay Monroe go that I wanted a relationship with? Where did she go, Linds? Cause I miss her one hell of a lot."

"I'm damaged, and I have all this baggage. You don't want someone like Lindsay Monroe. Trust me, Danny."

Danny sat back for a moment and shrugged. _"_No, I guess you're right, I don't."

Lindsay took a deep breath; the New York chill and their conversation quickly sobering her up. She opened her mouth, but before she could say a word, Danny pressed his index finger to her lips.

"I don't want someone _like _you; I want _you_, Lindsay. And like I told you before, I'm here for whatever you need, and I will be here until you tell me that you don't want me there."

She sniffled and shivered in the nightly breeze. "But I've got all these issues and stuff that you just don't need in your life, Danny. I get it. I do.. I just... I don't know what I was thinking. I'm sorry for getting you up, Danny..."

As she tried to stand, Danny took hold of her hand and sat her back on the stoop next to him. "All of that doesn't matter to me," he whispered as he tucked a loose curl behind her ear, letting his fingers trail down her cheek. Lindsay's hand went to his; effectively cupping his hand as he cupped her cheek. And, in a split second, Lindsay's lips were fused to his; placing a gentle kiss to his unsuspecting lips.

As much as he knew it was wrong; considering how upset she had been, he couldn't bring himself to stop their kiss. His fingertips found their way to her hair, tangling themselves in the curls as she drew him closer by playing with his hairline on his neck.

Their kiss wasn't anything desperate. There was no urgency in it. There was no rush.

Just like how Danny wasn't rushing Lindsay. Yes, he was desperate to be with her. He wanted the opportunity to kiss her like this whenever he wanted. He wanted the opportunity to hold her when she cried about whatever it was that was breaking her heart.

But in the same breath, he knew that right now wasn't the right time.

Yes, she was somewhat damaged; but he'd already figured that out; and to be quite honest, it didn't bother him in the slightest. Yes, she was falling apart, and at times he questioned whether she was managing at keeping herself afloat. Yes, he could see that her heart was breaking. But he knew that once she'd done what it was she needed to do, he'd be the one to put everything back together. Every. last. piece.

And their kiss was his way of letting her know that. That it was alright to be barely hanging on because when she fell; he'd catch her.

No matter whether she'd lost her way. No matter whether she pushed him away. No matter how broken she was.

He'd be there.

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**Thank you for reading. Comments and reviews are hugely appreciated. :)**


	3. Is This Love?

**A/N: Once again guys, thank you all SOOO much for your amazing reviews. I really do appreciate you taking the time to leave such kind comments. **

**So, I'm trying to do these in some kind of chronological order till I get through the one's I've written, and then they'll be random after that. I'm sorry that they're all old school DL atm but we've gots lots of nice ones coming! :) **

**With this one; it was actually inspired by the Gravedigger (AKA the episode of NY that recently aired here in the UK) with Lindsay wearing her whitesnake shirt - so imagine that shirt for me throughout! :) - ****My thinking behind this particular one was that I disliked how the show alluded to Danny and Lindsay not speaking much after LRC, so boo. I'm changing it in my head and writing this. I really hope you don't find then out of character or anything as such. **

**And last, but definitely not least, I hope you all enjoy it!**

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**This one's set after the episode where Lindsay leaves for Montana in season 3. **

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**Is This Love? - Whitesnake**

"_I should have known better, than to let you go alone. It's times like these I can't make it on my own. Wasted days, and sleepless nights, an' I can't wait to see you again."_

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Sitting back on his knees in front of his closet, Danny Messer observed the only piece of Lindsay Monroe left in New York. He'd been lying in bed, hours away from sleep when he got the fantastic idea of searching for the shirt he knew he had somewhere in his closet. He'd hidden the card she'd left him as he feared that the ink would slowly disappear with the amount of time he'd spent staring at her handwriting, desperate for a secret message or something. But the shirt however... that was different.

He shook his head at himself and his current state. Lindsay Monroe had unknowingly changed him.

And then some.

He picked up the pink shirt and held it up in front of his eyes with extended arms, taking in the shirt that always moulded to fit her frame perfectly. As he moved the material, he caught a whiff of her (now very faint) perfume and felt a sinking feeling in his stomach. God, did he miss her.

Which was stupid really; they'd not been half as close as what they had been in months. But, that being said, it didn't mean that he couldn't wait to see her again. Even if she had only left hours previous.

He fought the overwhelming urge to inhale her scent that barely lingered on the t-shirt. He'd sat and watched the movies with Lindsay where the lead actress had broken up with her boyfriend-slash-husband- and had sat in her closet and sobbed while clinging to his t-shirt he happened to leave that smelt of him. Lindsay had cracked up laughing from her position on the couch, gaining a chuckle from Danny as she doubled over in laughter, curled up in his blanket.

And now, here he sat contemplating that very action.

He sat back against the door and laid the Whitesnake band t-shirt over his lap. He could remember why Lindsay had accidentally left the top round at his. The team had gone out for informal drinks to celebrate Flack getting out of the hospital after he'd finished playing Humpty Dumpty and Lindsay had turned up in her pink Whitesnake t-shirt, a pair of jeans and some cons. Making Danny's jaw drop at how she was seemingly flawless in something that some would label as 'scruffs'. They'd sat and had a good time, (without Flack, who was under strict instructions to take it easy; to which the man himself had been hugely unimpressed about), they shared some laughs and what not, before Mac had declared that he thought it was best for everyone to turn in. Both Danny and Lindsay had nodded compliantly, before looking at each other and smirking.

They'd left the bar together, feeling like teenage rebels as they headed back to Danny's. He had been going on about his Pool table for the entire night and she had been adamant he was making it up to impress the ladies. The look on her face when they walked through his apartment door to be greeted by the pool table sat in its full glory was one he'd never forget. For once, Lindsay had been speechless.

Nothing had happened that night. Well, apart from a kiss... or six. They had sat on his couch with a beer each listening to Whitesnake, in honour of Lindsay's t-shirt, as they talked about their college experiences and early years within law enforcement.

She'd stayed the night and had slept in one of his polo shirts curled up next to him in his double bed. She had ended up going home in his polo shirt. He'd teased her saying she was holding it for hostage and was demanding ransom, and he was going to have Mac toss her ass in jail. She had simply retorted with it was nice to sleep in; after she'd told him to stop being so childish.

It'd gone downhill pretty much after that. They'd been okay for a few weeks, slowly moving towards... something. But then, after he'd gathered the courage up to ask her on an official date after the ordeal with Holly's case and Lindsay being in danger; it all changed. Lindsay backed away from him; pushed him away with all her might, would probably be a better way of describing it. She'd made a valiant effort to get him out of her personal life. And at times, out of her work life too.

Now he knew it was something from her past demanding all her energy, leaving her to barely function from one day to the next. But, before he knew that – it was a tough blow to take.

He'd never really fallen for anyone like he'd fallen for Lindsay. He'd had girlfriends, like Cindy and all the others, but they weren't really girlfriends. They were just something for him to do when he was bored (often quite literally). Lindsay though; Lindsay was on his mind all day, every day. If he wasn't looking for her in the lab, he was with her in the field. He fought with himself not to call her when they weren't in the lab, and he dreaded not being assigned a case with her. He even threw himself into spending time with Ruben down the hall; anything to take his mind off what wasn't going on with Lindsay. And he managed it. He successfully got over his -crush that wasn't really a crush but a hell of a lot more-

He just didn't anticipate missing her as much as what he was.

He wanted to do something. He now knew exactly why Lindsay had pushed him away. He wanted to be able to comfort her. Be a friend; be her best friend like how they used to be.

He ran his hand down his face and let out a deep breath. He had to somehow get a grip. He knew that Lindsay had to do it for herself. She didn't need someone to lean on, because if she did, she would have said.

Right?

He jumped slightly at the sound of his cell phone at such an early hour in the morning. He grabbed his phone from the floor and prayed it wasn't work calling him in. He glanced at the caller ID and his heart nearly leapt out of his chest. "Lindsay?" he gasped into the phone as he held it to his ear.

"Danny..."

"Lindsay, hey! How was your flight?"

"It's was okay," she said quietly on the other end. "I'm sorry to be calling so late; it's like three, isn't it?"

"Give or take," Danny shrugged it off, working it out that it was probably one am in Montana. "What's up? You alright?"

The silence echoed through the line as Danny could hear Lindsay breathing on the other end of the line. "I can't sleep."

Danny let out a sigh. "Me either."

She let out a small laugh, to which gained one in Danny.

"We're a pair, aren't we?"

"You can say that again," Danny chuckled as he gazed down at Lindsay's shirt.

"About the card Danny, I'm..."

"I understand why you did it," he cut her off.

"I didn't want to leave like that," she sighed. "I wanted to be able to talk to you."

"It's alright," he lied.

"It's not." She sighed. "I just... I knew how much I was going to m-..." she trailed off.

"Linds?" Danny prompted after a few moments of silence, holding onto her every word.

"I knew how much I was going to miss you and I didn't wanna..." she sighed again. "I'm sorry, I had this speech planned and it's all gone out the window now."

"You got notes written down there on your lap?" Danny smiled.

"Maybe," she giggled despite herself. "I'm sorry."

"Don't be," Danny assured her. "I was up anyway."

"You were? What for?"

Danny sighed, "It felt weird knowing you're in Montana. I was tossin' and turnin' so I figured I might as well get up." He sighed, feeling a little embarrassed at how much he'd already told her about his current state. "Is it nice seeing your parents?"

"Yeah," she said, drawing the syllables out in a way that was so Lindsay. "Yeah, it's nice."

"But..." Danny prompted.

"But I wish I didn't have to be here."

"When is the trial?" Danny asked tentatively.

"In a few days we start the preliminary stuff." She paused. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you... About why I couldn't..."

"Sorry? Don't be, Lindsay. I just wish I could have been there to help you through this, but I get that you wanted to do it on your own."

She sighed heavily down the line.

"And you know where I am when you need me."

"Thanks Danny."

"I mean it, Linds."

"I know you do," He could feel her smile down the line. "I ought to let you get back to not sleeping."

"Yeah," he agreed half-heartedly. "Keep smilin' Linds, you'll do good kiddo."

"Yeah. I hope so."

"I know you will. I'm rootin' for ya, sweetheart."

"Thanks Danny. Speak to you later, yeah?"

"Yeah, definitely." He nodded, despite her inability to see him.

And with that, the line went dead.

The burst of energy he'd gotten while he had been speaking to Lindsay on the phone was slowly wearing off, filling him with the heavy feeling in his stomach once again. He set Lindsay's shirt to one side as he straightened up, effectively cracking his back before crawling into bed; preparing himself for a few sleepless nights; at least until he got used to Lindsay being elsewhere in the country.

He let out a breath, "It won't be long," he told himself pathetically. "She'll be home soon."

One thing he did know however was that he couldn't wait to see her again.

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**Thanks for reading.** **Your thoughts are muchly appreciated :)**


	4. All I Want To Do

**A/N: Hey girlies! Huge thank you to all of you that reviewed my last chapter. They're always so lovely! I really appreciate your feedback and support with this one!**

**Before I forget; something that Afrozenheart mentioned to me was about song requests. If you've got a song you'd like to see (and don't want to try it yourself - which I totally reccommend! Hehe) I'd love to give it a go! :) So if you do, let me know! **

**Enjoy!**

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**This one is set after the episode Commuted Sentences. **

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**All I Want To Do, Sugarland**

"_I don't wanna get up baby, let's turn off the phone. I don't want to go to work today or even put my make-up on. I got better things to do than my to-do list anyway. Hide under the covers, and waste away the day. Let's just lay here and be lazy baby, drive me crazy. All I want to do is love you." _

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"NO!" Lindsay cried tugging at her duvet. "Baby, no!"

"Lindsay! Up!"

"Danny, honey. No!" she cried, giggling as she tugged the duvet Danny was pulling off her with all of his might. "Dannnnnny!"

"Lindsay, get your ass outta bed."

"Danny!"

"Out. Get up. Get up! Get your ass up."

"Why?!" she cried as she turned and snuggled into her pillow. "Where's the fire?"

"We got a day off; the fire is under my ass is to get stuff done."

"Hang a sign on the door. Please do not disturb. Get back into bed."

"Lindsay, it's ten am, half the morning's gone already. Get. Up. Montana."

"Yeah," she nodded as she turned, the sheet barely covering her now, "If had it my way, we'd still be laying here at dinner time tonight."

"Get your cute little ass outta my bed." Danny smirked at her. "Now."

"No!"

"Alright, I'll make you a deal," Danny smiled at her. When she stopped wiggling he licked his lips. "You get up and I don't toss you and the mattress on the floor. How does that sound?"

"No deal." she smirked.

"Lindsay get up!"

"What if I don't?" she quipped as she knelt up and carefully made her way to where he stood at his side of the bed, so that their noses were touching. "What then?" she asked, her eyes staring into his.

He merely shook his head at his girlfriend.

"I thought so," she giggled as she collapsed on the bed in a pair of shorts and one of his shirts. "You know you don't want to do anything today."

"I have errands. I need to go to the bank. The grocery store..."

"And they're not going to be there tomorrow when I'm at work?"

He pursed his lips and shook his head. He sighed heavily before grabbing the duvet cover and began to air it out over Lindsay's body before letting the material fall to the bed. He turned the corner back and sighed as he crawled in next to her. "The stuff I do for you." He growled. "I hope you appreciate me."

"I appreciate you lots," she giggled as she snuggled into his side. "You're warm and cuddly with your love handles."

"What's up with that? You said that yesterday at work. Are you suggesting I hit the gym?"

"Never," she giggled. "I'm just teasing you. I saw an opportunity to flirt yesterday, so I took it."

"Flirt?"

Lindsay nodded. "What's the matter with you? Getting hard of hearing in your old age? Yes. Flirt. Why?"

"I'm sorry, I just was under the impression we were in a grown up relationship. I must have been mistaken."

Lindsay sat up and glared at him where he lay, propped up by his pillow. "WHAT?!"

He took her arm and pulled her back towards him as he pressed a kiss to her temple, "Oh pipe down wiseass."

"You're a wiseass."

"You're mature."

Lindsay giggled as she snuggled further into his side.

With a raised eyebrow, he observed Lindsay for a moment. "Montana?"

"Yes?"

"What's got into you?"

"Me?"

Rolling his eyes, Danny nodded slowly, "Yeah... you. You're like a hyperactive puppy... on sugar... at Disney World... on Christmas... with Santa..."

She let out a breath and sighed dramatically. "I dunno."

"Oh..." Danny laughed. "That explains it."

"I'm just excited we have all day to lay with each other and do nothing."

"I need to go to the bank and the g-.."

"I repeat, we have nothing to do all day."

Danny shook his head. "You're a bad influence on me, Miss Monroe."

"I'm sure you'd be able to get a refund on me," she smirked, trying to stay serious. "Get a younger model?"

"Why when I have you? You're all I need."

Lindsay smiled as she prodded his chin with her finger and guided him down to face her. "Good answer."

"I've been trained well." He smirked at her as he pressed a kiss to her lips. "So what's first on the, let's blow off the rest of the world and be lazy today, agenda."

Lindsay smiled at him before tugging the duvet over their heads. As soon as they were buried under the mass of covers Lindsay wiggled out of his arms and straddled his lap, pressing kisses to his collar and neck.

"Miss Monroe, you're... you're..."

"I'm what?" she whispered against his skin as she slowly let Danny take her weight as she lay on top of him.

"I can't even remember," He groaned as she continued her kisses.

Lindsay giggled against his skin as she pressed another open mouthed kiss to his shoulder.

Danny Messer didn't get anything productive done on his day off. Nor did Lindsay Monroe for that matter.

Their phones got switched off.

Lindsay didn't put on any make up.

They hid under the covers.

They successfully wasted the day.

But they had one hell of a good time together.... doing absolutely nothing.

Which was all they wanted to do.

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**Thanks you muchly for reading. Reviews are always appreciated! :)**


	5. I'm Yours

**Hey girls! Another one of these for you; I hope you're still liking the oneshots and things are just as busy for you as they are for me; as opposed to you all not being keen! :(**

**This one is a request from **jorizo - **hope you like what I came up with, m'love! ...** iheartcsinewyork **and **DantanaMM... **yours are also in the works :)**

**Feedback is always appreciated and loved - so let me know what you thought; I hope you enjoy it! :)**

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**This one is set a week before Child's Play.**

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**I'm Yours – The Script**

_And though my edges may be rough, I never feel like quite enough. It may not seem like very much, but I'm yours. _

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Hands interlaced as they walked through Central Park, Lindsay Monroe let out a happy sigh as she heard giggling not far from them.

"Be careful, buddy!" Danny hollered after the little boy. "Hey! You listenin' to me?!" Upon no reply, Danny let go of Lindsay's hand and made a channel around his mouth, making the sound reverberate around them. "YO! RUBEN!"

The little boy squeezed his brakes and turned his head round. "I heard you the nineteen times you called me! What?"

"Acknowledge me talkin', bud!"

"Sorry, Danny! What's the matter?"

"Be careful, k? You're getting a little far in the lead there, bud..."

Ruben turned his head to Lindsay, looking for some sort of defence but she shrugged apologetically as Danny retook her hand. "Sorry Ruben, Danny's in charge."

Despite the distance between them, both Danny and Lindsay could see Ruben roll his eyes.

"And I'll have less of that!" Danny growled. "Your Mom put me in charge, kid. That means you go by my rules. If you wanna have your bike blessed next week, you gotta prove it to me that you can ride it."

"I'm ten years old, Danny!" Ruben cried as Danny and Lindsay finally caught up with him. "Ten whole years."

"Yeah, and... just be careful, k?" Danny sighed, relenting.

"My Mom already gave me the talk to listen to you, Danny."

"... And Lindsay." Danny added. "She's in charge too."

"And Lindsay." Ruben nodded and smiled at Danny's girlfriend. "Sorry."

Lindsay smiled and fixed Ruben's helmet on his head so that it wasn't near his eyes. "How about you show us your tricks with your bike, Ruben... Just don't go too far, okay? Me and Danny just worry."

"Okay Lindsay!" Ruben said with a smile before turning and quickly pedalling off.

For a moment, Danny just stood and smiled at his girlfriend. Under his stare she blushed and gave him a stare. "What?"

"Nothin'."

She raised her eyebrows.

"Kid likes you a lot, that's all."

"What's not to like?" Lindsay giggled. "C'mon." She said, giving Danny a tug.

Instead of letting her go, Danny dug his heels into the gravel and tugged Lindsay back to him and into his arms.

"Danny, you just gave Ruben a lecture on staying close and it's hardly fair if we're..."

"Can I talk to you about somethin'?"

Lindsay raised her eyebrows a little. "Um, yeah?" it was said nervously and cautiously.

Danny's hand went to intertwine them together again as the continued down the path covered by trees. "But there's a condition."

"You're not making sense." Lindsay informed him. "Spit it out, Danny."

"You hafta promise not to laugh at me, k?"

"I promise." Lindsay giggled with her pinky on her free gloved hand held in the air. Danny rolled his eyes and latched onto her pinky with his own.

"Alright, see the thing is..."

"DANNY! DANNY!"

Sighing, Danny turned his eyes away from Lindsay and looked down to where Ruben stood next to his bike. "What's up buddy?!"

"Can we go play ball?"

"Now?!" Danny implored as they approached the little boy. "We don't have any of your stuff."

"I put my baseball in Lindsay's purse." Ruben blushed at Danny's glare. "I do it to my Mom all the time... Please Danny."

Danny looked to Lindsay, and Lindsay smiled as she went to look in her purse. True to Ruben's word, there in her purse sat a battered baseball.

Lindsay held it in her gloved hand and smiled at Danny. "Glove up, Cowboy."

"Ten minutes," Danny sighed. "Then we're back on that bike, kid? You hear?!"

"Yessir." Ruben nodded and dropped his bike on the gravel. Lindsay smiled and went to pick the bike up and wheel it over to the bench, but as she did so Danny put his hand on her shoulder and shook his head. Straightening up, Lindsay caught Danny throw a look at Ruben, and instantly the little boy picked his bike up and rolled to where Lindsay had planned on setting it.

She merely stood for a moment almost in shock. With Ruben, Danny was a completely different person. A person she was quickly falling in love with.

She took a seat on the bench and smiled as she looked on at her boyfriend play Dad to a lovely little boy. Despite the freezing cold breeze that had fallen upon New York, she had a lovely warm feeling rise throughout her.

Love.

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Like Danny had said, exactly ten minutes later; the two boys came barrelling for Lindsay, still sat on the bench. "Who won?" she inquired.

"Danny." Ruben said sadly. "My fingers were too cold to catch the ball and it went on how many times you dropped the ball."

Lindsay looked up to Danny and scowled. "You could have given him your gloves."

"They'd'a done no good. They'd be way too big for him."

Lindsay glanced down to her lap and saw her gloves. "Hey Ruben? Let me see your hand a second."

Ruben held his little pink hand up, and Lindsay mirrored his action and held her hand against his. "You know, I think my gloves might fit... if you don't mind wearing girl gloves... You could go warm up and have a re-match."

Ruben gasped. "Can we Danny? Can we?"

"If it's okay with Lindsay? She's the one sat freezing her tuschy off."

"I don't mind," she smiled as she removed her gloves and handed them to Ruben. "Do me a favour and kick his butt?"

"Sure Lindsay!" Ruben squeaked as he grabbed the ball from Danny and headed back to their spot of grass and began throwing the ball into the air.

Danny's eyes had followed the little boy but he had now changed his gaze and was looking down at Lindsay. He took a seat next to her and pressed a kiss to her cheek. "That was sweet of you,"

She scrunched her face up. "Please."

"Please what?" Danny laughed. "You didn't have to give him your gloves. It was sweet."

Lindsay shrugged. "It's a maternal instinct I guess. Looking after the baby bear."

Danny chuckled and pulled her into his side. "Thanks for comin' today. You must be exhausted."

Lindsay shrugged it off. "I'll have an early night tonight. If I sleep after a night shift, my sleeping pattern gets screwed up. And anyway, this is nice. It's not often we spend time together, and you always talk about Ruben, so it's been nice to meet him."

Danny smiled. "You know Lindsay, about earlier and what I wanted to say..."

"DANNY!"

Danny let out a breath. "Kid's got awesome timing."

"Tell me later," Lindsay smiled. "I'm gonna go grab some coffee, want anything?"

"A kiss," he smiled as he leaned over and pressed a soft and loving kiss to her lips. "Or ten."

"Maybe later," she smiled. "You have a ten year old waiting for revenge."

Danny chuckled and squeezed Lindsay's knee in a loving gesture before standing up from his position on the bench. He turned and hesitated for a moment until he shook his head and headed off to join Ruben.

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After Ruben, with the help of Lindsay's gloves, won the re-match, the three continued their stroll and bike ride through Central Park. Lindsay had waved Ruben's attempts of giving her gloves back and she'd told him to keep them till they got back to the apartment to keep his fingers warm. After all, she had Danny to keep her warm.

They had walked for another ten minutes until they had come to a clearing as such, with a fountain in the middle and Ruben was currently cycling around while Danny stood behind Lindsay with his arms wrapped around her waist.

"Did that coffee do you any good, hon?" Danny said as he rested his chin on her shoulder.

"Some," she shrugged. "It was something. All I need is a shower I think."

"You can have one at mine," he offered. "We can chill out, watch a movie, get take out?"

"That sounds great," she smiled and leaned back into his embrace. "I've had a really nice day today."

"Me too," Danny smiled as he let go of Lindsay, making her shiver at the lack of warmth from his body. He turned his girlfriend so that she faced him. "About earlier."

"Earlier?" she asked as he fiddled with his scarf. "Huh?"

"When I wanted to talk to you," he said quietly. He had now managed to get his scarf off his neck. "I just want you to know how much I care about you,"

Blushing, Lindsay let out a contented sigh. "I care about you too."

"And I know I'm not exactly the definition of the guy you probably should be datin'... Like I know I don't say the sappy stuff you'd probably like me to say, and I don't seem like I do all that much for you," he hooked his scarf around Lindsay's neck, using it to pull her towards him. "But I'm yours, and I hope that it's gonna be enough for you, because I really do care a lot about you."

Lindsay closed her eyes as she inhaled his scarf that was wrapped around her. She stood on her tiptoes and rested the tip of her nose against his and smiled at him. "You're everything I need." She assured him.

She knew that she didn't have the softest touch. She also knew that his edges were a little rough. He wasn't the romantic type (most of the time...) and constantly compared himself to a stereotypical man seen in the movies.

He wasn't perfect. But he was her's. And that was all that mattered.

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**Thanks for reading :)**


	6. Who's Crying Now?

**A/N: Hi all. First of all, I really want to apologise for not replying (and updating) recently. Things have been maniac with my classes and stuff, and have left me with no time. (well, enough time to write, but that's by the by.) **

**I have read, loved and noted down all the lovely comments and suggestions you've given me; and I will get round to replying to you all, but in the meantime - thank you all very much.**

**This oneshot is the product of a suggestion from DantanaMM. I hope it's okay; and you like it, honey! :) **

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**This one is set after the episode, RND finishes. :( **

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**Who's Crying Now – Journey**

_So many stormy nights, so many wrongs or rights, neither could change their headstrong ways. And in a lover's rage, they tore another page... The fightin' is worth the love they save..._

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Lindsay Monroe was mad.

She had far passed the devastation and heartbreak she had been feeling hours previous. She was mad in that he was continually looking her in the eyes and lying to her. And even then, he wasn't maintaining eye contact. He wasn't able to maintain it. His conscious was eating him alive for her to see.

They both knew what he had done, but neither had the will to admit it out loud.

Growling, Lindsay ripped open her locker and shoved her lab coat on the hanger while she pulled out her coat and threw it to the bench roughly. She was glad in a sense that she was alone in the locker room, so that no one was there to witness her anger and cursing under her breath; but then again, if someone _was_ there, she would be bottling this up, and she wouldn't have to deal with it. The upset. The anger. The betrayal. Because she knew that once she had let it out, she'd have to deal with it. If it wasn't let out; it wasn't _that_ much of an issue.

Her eyes filled with tears when she thought of how she'd begged him to let her help him. For the past few weeks she'd left voicemails; sent him messages... hell, she'd even left him post-it notes on his computer screen at work with little messages reminding him she was there if he needed her; only to see them an hour or so later crumpled up in the trash.

She wasn't sure whether it was his inability to just acknowledge her as of late, or whether it was his bold gesture of screwing up the thoughtful post-it notes and throwing them in the trash, that made her so upset. Deep down, she knew that it was the latter; but there wasn't much of anything she could do. She'd tried being there... that hadn't worked. She had tried _not _being there; effectively giving him space... that hadn't worked either. And now that it had come to the point of no return basically, she had laid it out for him; not leaving anything to the uncertainty... and well, time would tell on that one. If anything, the reaming that she'd given him in the office would kick start _something_ inside him... Because she knew deep down his heart that she had fallen in love with was there. She knew that the person she dreamt about, and spent her time thinking about was inside the shell of her former lover...

She didn't know however, whether she had the strength to bring that person out in the person that Danny had become.

She swiped at her tears that had been threatening to fall as she grabbed her messenger bag from her locker and slung the strap over her shoulder as she shut her locker. As she did so, a tall figure stood there, making her jump.

She took a deep breath and straightened up as she went to grab her jacket, acknowledging the person stood there in as little way as possible.

"Lindsay..."

"I'm not interested." She began as she thrust her arms into the sleeves of her jacket. "Your silence today told me everything I needed to know."

"Lindsay..."

"I'm not interested." She repeated. "Nothing you say matters to me anymore. It's all too little, too late, Danny. I don't want to hear it."

"Lindsay, if you'd just give me a minute to explain."

"I think you'd need a hell of a lot longer than a minute, Messer." Lindsay spat. "I don't want to talk about this. Now if you don't mind..." she grabbed her bag and stepped past him, but as she did so, he reached out, and curled his fingers around her arm.

"Lindsay, please."

"Danny, let go!"

"Lindsay... just give me a second to talk to you."

"Why should I?" she cried as she wiggled away from him. "Give me a reason why I should give you the chance to explain to me what it is you've done..."

Danny swallowed. "Because you de-..."

"Look Danny; if you wanted to end it between us, you should have just said... rather than leading me on, okay? Because now, rather than just going back to how we were, we won't be able to do that... And in the process, I lost my best friend."

"Lindsay, you haven't lost your best friend. I'm here and I..."

"You're not my best friend." She whispered as she shook her head. "I don't know who you are anymore."

"Lindsay... I'm the same me. I've just been going through some stuff; you know that... You know how much Ruben meant to me."

"I think you forget that Ruben meant something to me too, Danny... But instead of talking to me about it, you chose to go elsewhere to discuss it," she snipped; giving him his first indication that she knew exactly what had been going on behind her back.

"I didn't mean for any of this to happen." He whispered. "I swear, Lindsay..."

"I don't doubt that," she shrugged. "But it did... and I don't think I can move on from it."

"If we tried, we could."

"Who said anything about a 'we', Danny? We weren't a 'we' the second you started pushing me away." She sniffled as a tear slipped down her cheek.

"Lindsay, I've made a huge mistake in how I've been... in how I've dealt with what happened."

"I know," Lindsay nodded. "We both have I think. Some maybe bigger than others... Some more wrong than another... But both of us have made mistakes, Danny. It's what you to do rectify them. My mistake was not pushing through that barrier you insisted on putting up around yourself. That was my mistake... I don't know about yours."

She could see his face pale slightly, and she watched him swallow; knowing exactly what he'd done... And the fact that she knew exactly what he'd done. And for a moment in her rage, it gave her a little bit of satisfaction to see him sorry for what they both knew he'd done. To see him regret what he'd done.

"We need to talk," Danny whispered. "Like talk properly."

"Why?" Lindsay sighed. "What for? To get more upset? To argue and scream at each other some more? What's the point Danny? What's it going to achieve?"

"Us getting back together? Saving what we once had?"

"Is it worth it?"

"I think it is," Danny whispered. "You've lost your way before, Lindsay." He said, tears pooling in his eyes. "And I know that you're mad with me right now, and I know that I deserve all the anger you're feeling, but I also know that deep down inside of you, you know how I'm feeling. You know that this pain that I've got goin' on in my chest doesn't really go away, no matter what you do to try an' get rid of it."

Lindsay bit her lip, fighting her emotions.

"And I know that you're trying not to cry or let me in right now." He continued. "I just... I really miss you, and right now, I really need you."

"You didn't need me though," She whispered; her hurt being channelled in her voice. "You didn't need me before, so why do you need me now?"

"Because..." he paused. "With you things seem better. They seem easier... Maybe because I know you know what it is I'm goin' through... Whatever it is... I need you, Linds."

She sniffed her tears up that were threatening to fall. "I can't do this right now."

"When?" he pressed.

"When? When what?" She implored.

"When can we talk?"

"You want a time and date?"

"No," he said with narrow eyes, "Not a time and date, but at least an idea of when..."

"Listen to yourself," Lindsay spat. "Just listen. Are you hearing yourself? You want me to give you an idea of when we can talk about what YOU did?"

Danny trailed his fingers through his styled hair in frustration. "I just want to get back to how we were."

Lindsay licked her lips and shook her head, "I don't think that's a possibility anymore Danny... I can't do this right now."

"Why not?"

"Why? Because we're at work... In the locker room... While you're still on the clock. That's why." She turned on her heel and fought the tears as she made her way out of the locker room. "

"Lindsay," he called to her, desperate to get her attention one last time.

"What?" She sighed, whipping her head round to face him; the last ounce of her patience wearing thin.

"I'm not going to give up," he informed her, dedication and determination displayed across his face. "I'm not going to do it. I've got too much to lose. I can't lose you. I'm not giving up, Linds."

"You know what, Danny?" She said as she shrugged, "Whatever. Do as you want... you will anyway."

And with that, she headed out of the locker room. Leaning against the wall for a moment, she tried to regain her composure as she prepared herself to walk through the lab. She hoped, and even a little part of her prayed, that despite how stubborn they both were; all the heartbreak, tears and hurt wouldn't matter somewhere down the line; because he would keep his promise... And despite the fact that he had betrayed her trust and broken her heart, he'd make it better.

He'd make it so that she wasn't the one who was crying now.

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**Thanks for reading guys; reviews are very much appreciated and fuel the muse to come up with other little oneshots :) **


	7. She Only Smokes When She Drinks

**Hey girls! - I first want to thank you all for your wonderful reviews with last chapter; you are all stars that never fail to make my day with your kind reviews.. Also, I want to thank Messermonroeforever125, FoxPhile, nothatrose and Jorizo for song suggestions. I have ideas for all of the ones you guys sent to me and will get them written soon! :) **

**Special thank you to: messermonroeforever125, piper maru duchovny, DantanaMM, FoxPhile, saderia, iheartcsinewyork, ioanhoratio, Meredith and Derek, madmush, Sweet LIL loz, afrozenheart412, NothatRose, 18lzytwner, jorizo & Margot :) **

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**This one is set after the episode; Admissions - 4x18. **

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**She Only Smokes When She Drinks, Joe Nicols.**

"_For a complicated girl, she ain't that hard to figure out." _

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"Mac called," A voice said simply as he sat on a stool next to her at the bar.

"Good for you," she sighed sadly as she took another drink of her beer. "You came all the way here to tell me that?"

"About today... He called me about today."

"Yeah, it was really nice without you at work," Lindsay snipped. "We ought to try that more often."

"You know I don't mean about me not being at work," Danny sighed as he used his arm to prop his head up at the bar. "I thought you might need a friend."

"Noble of you," she chided. "I'm good though, thanks. I've managed for two months all by myself so far. Looks like you've had yourself a wasted journey."

Danny licked his lips. He had expected her to be cold with him, and while he didn't have the right to be hurt; it still cut him deep.

"I heard about Gerrard."

"Who hasn't in the NYPD?" Lindsay huffed. "It's just one huge mess."

"Somebody had hurt his baby girl," Danny shrugged. "I'd do the same if it was my daughter... if it was _our _daughter." He had slipped it in, a part of him hoping she heard him, and didn't overlook it like he thought.

Lindsay glanced at him quickly before turning her eyes back to her drink. "Why are you here, Danny? To screw with my head a little more? Or because you've nothing better to do?"

"Because I know how hard dealing with teenage girls is for you."

Lindsay rolled her eyes.

"I also know that the first case you ever did solo was a case pretty similar to this one."

Lindsay took a drink of her beer as she ignored Danny.

"And I know that this is the bar you come to when you're fed up with the injustices in the world; when you're pissed that you can't do anything more than what you've already done to fix things."

"Don't you have somewhere else you need to be?" Lindsay asked, her tone becoming short. "Like comforting some damsel in distress somewhere..." she paused. "Oh wait, today that's me... I get it."

Dragging his fingers through his hair, he let out a sigh. "Lindsay..."

"I get it Danny; you have that overwhelming protective-man-urge to be the knight in shining armour. So you go ahead and sit here and talk to me. Make me realise how well I did at work today and that I've made a difference to Natalie, despite the fact her father just murdered someone and she was raped... Go ahead and sit here and tell me that you care about me, and you're sorry that you haven't been there for me. Sit here and pretend that you wish you hadn't pushed me away. Whatever it is you do to get your thrill. Go ahead and I'll pretend to listen."

He'd fallen silent. He could tell her she was wrong, and that he genuinely did care about her, and he was sorry that he'd pushed her away, but a part of him couldn't argue with her reasoning.

"That's what I thought," Lindsay sighed before she picked her glass up and downed the rest of her beer. "Full of empty broken promises."

"You're probably right," he nodded. "But if you don't give me the chance to make you those promises, we'll never know."

"Why would I set myself up for a fall... again?"

Danny sighed. "I didn't come here to get you worked up, Lindsay. I came because I thought you might need a friend. And I know that despite the fact you're pissed with me, I'm the only person that you'd want here."

"That's very bold of you."

"But it's true, is it not?"

Lindsay sighed. "You're relentless... Why? Why do you care so much now?"

"Because."

"Because isn't a valid reason, Danny. Because is an excuse for when you don't know what to say."

"I don't know what to say," Danny said, shaking his head. "Just like how you didn't know what to say when Ruben died. Both of us aren't very good at this kind of thing."

Lindsay let her eyes flutter shut for a moment, before gesturing to the bartender for another drink. "There's a difference between you and me though... I wanted to be there for you, Danny. You feel as if you have to be here for me now. So it kind of takes away from the fact that you're not good at this kind of thing, because if you genuinely cared, you would have been there; like how I was."

"I am here though."

"I don't mean the case. I mean everything."

"Lindsay..."

"I don't wanna hear it," she growled at him. "I'm sick and tired of listening. Of talking. Of going around in circles. It's getting old. It's draining me."

"Well then, let's not talk." He suggested. "Let's just sit."

Lindsay opened her mouth to speak, but decided against it and merely shrugged.

He had a hundred things he wanted to say to her; all burning inside of him, waiting to be released... But true to his word, he sat and just stared into the distance as Lindsay took long gulps of her beer every now and again.

The silence and bad song choice of the previous patron was slowly torturing him and so Danny stood and made his way over to the duke box, sat in the corner of the bar.. He slid fifty cents into the slot, and picked a song at random. He made his way back to Lindsay and held his hand out as he stood next to her, silently offering to dance with her.

She looked up at him through her bangs, the look accompanied with a perfectly arched eyebrow.

"I know you want someone to hold you right now," He began. "Let me be that person, Lindsay."

She closed her eyes and took a deep breath before moving her hand so that his encased her's. He pulled her from her stool and tugged her away from their seats. Instantly, her head fell to his chest and he wrapped his arms around her, holding her close and tight.

And for the first time since Ruben Sandoval died, Danny felt his tightness in his chest loosen a little.

"I miss you," It was a whisper. A whisper he nearly missed. It was also a drunken whisper that he tried not to take to heart. They say the truth comes out when you're drunk and if that was the case, Lindsay did in fact miss him like he thought she might. And rather than letting him see that, she was trying to protect herself from getting hurt again... and she was doing so in the form of refusing to let him back in. And the thought of that killed him.

"I miss you too," he replied, despite himself and his conscious telling him not to act and make things worse for her. "A lot." He soon added.

She raised her head from his chest and looked up at him through tear filled eyes. "Why are you making this so hard for me? Couldn't you have just left me to deal with today on my own? Why did you have to insist on coming down and screwing with my head a little bit more? Couldn't you have given me the space that I gave you?"

Honestly? He didn't know the answers to her questions; and he knew that she deserved an answer better than 'I don't know', but he didn't have one any better than that.

He took a deep breath. "I just want a chance to change what we've become, Lindsay. I want a chance to get back to where we were before all of this happened."

"I told you before, Danny... I don't see that happening right now."

"Let's start fresh then," he suggested as his arms held her close as a new song started. "Let's build everything back up."

"It's not that easy." Lindsay reminded him. "You really hurt me, Danny."

"I have two tickets to an Empires game next week." He said randomly and suddenly. "Come with me."

She blinked. "What?"

"I have two tickets. I got them for us a while back; come with me."

"Danny... No, I..."

"Think about it." He begged. "Please. Just... just consider coming."

She let out a sigh. "I don't think it's a good idea."

"All I'm asking you to do is consider coming. It might be fun, Linds... It might give us an opportunity to escape all of these hurt feelings; it'll give us something to do; and it'll take your mind off this case, because you'll have something else to focus on, won't you?"

Taking into consideration her spinning head from the alcohol, Lindsay cleared her throat. "I'll think about it... Perhaps when the room isn't spinning."

"That's fine," he nodded, "Let me know whenever. The ticket's yours, k?"

She nodded and swallowed.

He held her close for another minute before letting out a breath. "Linds, do you want me to take you home?" From the way she was holding herself, he could tell she wanted to go home. He could also tell that she was pushing herself to stay longer, so that she didn't have to go home and nurse both the hangover and her broken heart.

She laid her forehead against his chest and nodded instantly. "Yeah..." she said, splitting the syllables of the word. "Yeah, would you mind?"

He pressed a kiss to her forehead, before taking her hand and making sure she had her bag. He threw down a twenty to the bar, to cover her drinks as he led her from the bar.

As they stepped out onto the street, Lindsay shivered in her t-shirt, and instantly Danny removed his jacket. He carefully placed it over her shoulders and helped her to put her arms in the sleeves before he zipped the jacket up. After doing so, he took her hand and made sure she was okay with his pace to which they were walking at.

He knew that a series of contributing factors had led Lindsay to that bar tonight; the one triggering everything was the case with Natalie Gerrard, but the underlying one; the one she was really there for was him, and how their constant back and forth with everything had left her drained and at a loss for what to do.

Wrapping his fingers around her hand a little more, Danny let out a breath as Lindsay laid her head against his shoulder.

As complicated as Lindsay sometimes was; to him, she wasn't hard to figure out at all.

What he did find complicated was working through the underlying issues, hurt feelings and emotions that were stirred in the both of them over the past few months. It was tough, having the same argument, saying the same things again and again. But he knew that Lindsay needed to hear them. He knew that he needed to make up for what he'd done.

He knew though that after they got passed that they would get back to the couple they had been. That, he was sure of.

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**Thanks for reading; as always your lovely comments are very much appreciated; and if there are any songs you'd wish to see me try - drop me a pm/slip it into your review and I'll see what I can do :)**


	8. Last Thing On My Mind

**A/N: Thank you all so much - a HUNDRED reviews in like seven chapters?! You guys are amazing; thank you for all your lovely feedback. It's so encouraging, and I do hope you're enjoying the oneshots like I enjoy writing them!**

**Random – but the only word that Word said I had spelt wrong and was grammatically incorrect was 'Rikki'. It made me laugh more than what it probably should - I had to share.**

**This particular oneshot is a result from a suggestion by **Nothatrose**. She suggested the song, and instantly, my mind went boom with the ideas. I absolutely love this song and haven't heard it in forever, so it's given me a good excuse to listen to it on repeat! Hope you enjoy what I did with it my friend! (: **

**Special thank you to:** piper maru duchovny, webdlfan, saderia, FoxPhile, DantanaMM, The-Kiwi-CSI, dl-shipper34, messermonroeforever125, ncisabbylover, afrozenheart412, 18lzytwner, jorizo, AnickaMarie, Meredith and Derek & NothatRose

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**This one is set a week or so after 4x19 - Personal Foul.**

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**The Last Thing on My Mind – Ronan Keating & Leann Rhymes.**

_It's four o'clock in the morning; my mind's filled with a thousand thoughts of you. _

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Lindsay.

She was the first thing he thought about when he woke up in the morning and she was the last thing on his mind when sleep eventually came to him at night.

With everyday that he woke without Lindsay lying next to him, he was reminded of how stupid he'd been by betraying her trust and breaking her heart. With everyday that he woke without Lindsay next to him, he realised how much Lindsay truly meant to him. How much he needed her. How much he wanted her to be in his life.

He stretched and yawned as he turned to face his alarm clock which read four am.

He knew that she would be getting up in two hours for work. Right now though, she'd have her duvet twisted around her right leg and would be just about to wake up to reach for her glass of water. She'd then consider going to the bathroom, but would decide she was too comfy. So instead, she'd reach out to her side and lace her fingers through Danny's, because while she liked to snuggle, she also liked her own space while she slept. So lacing her fingers through his was her way of getting the best of both worlds.

Basically, he knew her better than he knew the back of his hand.

He ran his hand down his face and released a frustrated sigh. It would never, ever make sense to him why he had done what he did. Why he had changed the person he was to a person he now hated. He'd never know why he had betrayed and hurt her like he had done. He had it all right there before his eyes. Lindsay. She was everything he'd ever needed. She was the one he wanted next to him when things went right, or in some cases, when they went wrong. It was her that he loved. But because she had been the last thing on his mind, he'd effectively thrown all of that away.

He knew that he should have let her be there when she had reached out to him, desperate for him to take her hand. In hindsight, the loss of Ruben had affected him more than it probably should have and he knew for a fact that he should have dealt with that loss differently... he should have been better at dealing with it. But he hadn't been. And he'd lost everything that had mattered to him, which nearly included his job. The episode where Rikki had taken his gun, hellbent on shooting Ollie Barnes nearly left him with nothing, but Lindsay had saved his ass that day. And he'd done nothing really to repay her. To thank her.

When she had told him 'no' about going to the Empire's game with him, he felt a sinking in his stomach. The heaviness he had felt was back again. He had been convinced that she'd go with him. And it broke him even more when his eyes fell on her at the crime scene; knowing that she should have already been there with him.

The days that had followed as they solved the case had been long and hard. It'd been a long time since he and Lindsay had spent so much time on a case together. And he wasn't sure whether that time he had spent with Lindsay had gone to his head, or whether realisation of what they had become had hit him; either way he knew that he had to reach out to her somehow. When he called her and she was out taking a rain walk, he knew that whatever it was he was feeling; she was feeling too.

She had gone round to his place; much to his surprise. One thing had led to another, and they'd either made the best move they could have; reminding each other of the connection that they had, despite everything – or the worst, and reminded each other of what it was they had lost over the past few months.

After they had made love, they had talked. And talked... And then talked some more. They had tried to figure out where they stood in their relationship... whether they still wanted a relationship. He knew that he did. But Lindsay... Lindsay always held that silence a little longer. A little longer than what he felt she should have if she was positive that she wanted to be with him. In theory it was simple; yes or no.

He let out a growl; angry with his previous thought. He forgot sometimes that she was still hurting; and would be hurting for a while. He forgot that she was trying to mend her broken heart on her own because she was too scared to let him do it, only to break it again. He forgot that a part of her didn't want to let go of him; but the other screamed to forget him and move on. She knew he was sorry, and that if he could go back to change the events that had happened, he would in a heartbeat. But at the end of the day, her trust in him was broken.

Honestly though, he missed her.

His mind no matter what time of the day, was filled with thoughts of what she was doing... whether she was okay... whether she missed him. At four am though, his thoughts killed him because that would be the time that he'd lay with her; wondering how he'd gotten so lucky and he would be silently prepping himself in telling her that he loved her. A lot. But, because of his stupid act he'd lost her and everything that came with what they used to be.

He was determined not to let go. He was determined not to let their worlds fall to pieces. For two years, all they had known was each other; both at work and in their personal lives... Adjusting to her being there one day, and not the next, was something he was struggling with.

He'd told her he was sorry, but really he knew that sorry didn't make much of a difference. Sorry didn't wipe her tears or mend her broken heart. Sorry didn't make up for the hours she'd spent wondering what it was _she'd_ done _wrong_. Wondering _why _he hadn't gone to _her_ when she had been right there.

The truth was she'd been the last thing on his mind. Which he now knew was the worst thing he could have done. When things had gotten tough; it should have been her that he had gone to. It should have been Lindsay at the forefront of his mind. Not himself.

If only he had opened his eyes.

He reached for his cell phone and contemplated calling her, but as his fingertips made contact with the plastic of the casing, he brought his hand back to the bed. He was out of his mind if he thought calling her at four am was acceptable.

She deserved a hell of a lot more than a phone call at the break of dawn. Hell, she deserved him sat outside her apartment with her favourite bagel and a coffee, waiting for her to step outside her door on the way to work. It was little gestures like that, that she deserved. None of his bullshit phone calls late at night; or early in the morning as it was.

He laid there for a moment and considered what at first seemed to be a ludicrous idea.

Sitting outside her apartment with a bagel and a cup of coffee was an idea.

His heart began racing as the idea played out in his head. It wasn't him apologising over the phone again. It wasn't him banging on her door, begging her to answer it. It was him making a gesture... It was him actually showing Lindsay he was sorry, and that he was changing.

He threw the covers from his body and jumped out of bed.

And despite the early morning; Danny Messer was ready to face the day ahead.

* * *

Fluffing her bangs softly and finishing with some hairspray, Lindsay took in her appearance and shrugged as she turned on her heel; ready to start the day.

As usual, she had pressed the snooze button too many times, and had taken too long in the shower leaving her with no time for breakfast. She rolled her eyes as she made her way into the living room, ignoring the half full wine glass that still sat on coffee table.

She glanced around her apartment, checking that everything was switched off and grabbed her bag and keys.

She took one last look in the hall mirror, checking her appearance. She figured it was because she was hiding how she was really feeling; and looking into the mirror was the only way she could tell whether or not she was hiding it well... or whether her smile was as see through as what she expected it was.

She took a deep breath as she opened her apartment door and stepped out into the hallway, making sure she heard the lock click behind her.

Sensing someone's presence, she glanced behind her suspiciously and let out a sigh of relief when she found it was simply her imagination, and there was in fact no one behind her.

"Hey..."

She jumped about as high as her heart did upon the sound of the voice that made her heart ache and flutter all at the same time. She turned her head down to where the sound had come from, and raised her eyebrow. "Are we comfy down there?"

"Extremely," He smiled at her before holding his hand up, silently asking for a little help with getting up.

She helped him up and offered him a shy smile before her eyes made their way to the brown bag and thermos filled with what she presumed was coffee that he had in his hand. She then looked at him; her eyes asking for an explanation.

"I knew you wouldn't have had time for breakfast, and I wanted to..." Danny took a deep breath, deciding to take a slightly different approach. "I was laying in bed at four am, thinking about you and decided that laying there thinking about you wouldn't do me any good. You keep telling me I need to show you how sorry I am, and well... this seemed like a good first step in me doing so. I know it isn't much but I..."

He trailed off as he saw Lindsay edge towards him. Stood on her tiptoes, Lindsay craned her neck up to place a kiss to his cheek. "Thank you."

He smiled as he offered her the bagel and the thermos of coffee. "Present for you," he continued to smile as she took the thermos. "I didn't want it to get cold... So maybe from now on, you can take your coffee on the road. Kill two birds with one stone. Look like a real New Yorker on the move."

She smiled as she took a sip, and nodded to signal their movement down the hallway. "How long have you been sat outside?"

He glanced down to his feet and shrugged.

"Danny..."

"A half an hour? Forty five minutes?"

"Danny!"

"I didn't want to miss you in case you'd changed and started making time for breakfast... or on the off chance you wanted to get to work earlier..."

"It's really thoughtful," she smiled as she pushed the elevator button down and edged closer to him. "I appreciate it."

He smiled. Lindsay had smiled at him – the first real smile he'd seen in a hell of a long time. He felt a rising inside him. "Lindsay..."

"Yeah?" she asked as she held her thermos to her lips, about to take a drink.

"I know you might be thinking right now that this is a one off, and I've done this today and tomorrow I'll go back to how I've been acting..."

She glanced down at the brown bag that she held in her hand, "It's one of the things going through my mind," she admitted.

"And I don't blame you," he replied. "But, I'm trying, Lindsay, I promise you... I'm finding that guy that used to look at you with that look in his eyes. That look that told you that you were my girl and that we were going places."

Lindsay let out a sigh.

"Like I said to you in the park, I know I'm not exactly the definition of the guy you probably should be datin'... I know I don't say the sappy stuff you'd probably like me to say, and I don't seem like I do all that much for you. And we both know now that I definitely don't treat you how I should... How you deserve to be treated,"

Lindsay licked her lips, letting him continue without an interruption.

"But I'm not going to let go because I know what we can be... the other night showed me that all this hasn't changed who we are when we're together. That night showed me how much this both still means to us," he said as he moved his finger between the both of them. "I'm not going to let everything crash down around us. I want to keep all those promises I made to you when you came to see me last week after your rain walk."

Lindsay swallowed, ignoring the waiting elevator.

"I had you right there before my eyes and I'll always regret not seeing you." Danny finished. "And I promise you Lindsay, that this chapter is the last time that you'll be the last thing on my mind. I'll never let that happen again. I know that bringing you a bagel and a coffee isn't much of anything, but it's a start and I..."

Danny was cut off by Lindsay's lips as she moulded her lips to his, catching him off guard slightly.

It was a brief, yet meaningful kiss. One to which shocked Danny... She let out a breath; making his lips tingle. She then stepped onto the elevator, her hand tugging him along.

Following her lead, Danny stepped onto the elevator as she pushed the button for the bottom floor.

As the doors shut, Lindsay used the wall of the elevator to prop herself up as she took in Danny's appearance. His shirt was ironed. His hair was styled. He had shaved.

He looked like her Danny.

She tried to fight the smile as she took a sip of her favourite coffee (that he had remembered was her favourite). She had known that she had been the last thing on his mind over the past few months, and it had hurt. Now though, from the look in his eyes he was seeing clearer. The apologies he was offering meant something. They meant more. He wasn't going to let go and that much was obvious to her now.

They were by no means where they were two months ago before their worlds had been upturned. But they were back on track. She was no longer the last thing on his mind. And that was something that they could build on.

As the elevator reached the bottom floor, the doors opened and together they headed off.

Danny coughed as an overwhelming growl from his stomach sounded, indicating how hungry he was. Despite Danny coughing to mask the noise, Lindsay reduced into a fit of giggles.

"What?" he barked.

"You!" she cried as she opened up the paper bag and pulled the onion bagel filled with cream cheese apart. "Here, before you starve to death."

He glanced at the halved bagel she was handing him. "You sure?"

She nodded. "Positive."

Hesitating, Danny sighed. "But I..."

"Look, I don't share my onion bagels often, do I?"

Danny shook his head. "You never share them. I even think you bit me once when I asked for a bite..."

"So take it before I stop offering it," she smiled.

Taking the bagel, Danny smiled at Lindsay before taking a bite. "Want a ride?"

"Don't talk with your mouth full," she scolded out of habit. "And I was just planning on getting the subway, so..."

"I'll get it with you," Danny offered. "Come pick my bike up later... If that's okay of course. It's safe in the garage, right?"

Lindsay raised an eyebrow, mid bite of her bagel. "You don't have to do all of this."

"I know," he nodded. "I don't have to... I want to do it. I really want to spend the time with you..."

Lindsay bit her lip for a moment, considering the gesture... considering spending time with just her and Danny; how it used to be. Not living the separate lives like they had been doing.

"I think I'd quite like that," she finally smiled.

Danny nodded; his heart racing with excitement at the steps they'd made together.

And for the first time in the past few months, Lindsay Monroe was at the forefront of Danny Messer's mind.

Where she would stay.

* * *

**Thanks for reading :) **


	9. Only You Can Love Me This Way

**I got so unbelievably carried on with this one it is unreal; there wasn't a place I wanted to bring it to an end, and I wanted something to break up the angst we have had recently... ****And seen as I already had this written, I figured I would go ahead and post it in the hopes that all of your lovely reviews will cheer me up as I have two scary assignments that need to be done for next week. Eeep. **

**I actually had the idea before I had the song; but then when I was flicking through my iTunes, I must have had this song in my head as I found almost a direct quote to the lyrics I have and a sentence from Danny, so yeah. It's excessively long but I hope it's a good idea that you all enjoy.**

**Thank you to everyone who reviewed. Honestly, your comments are always so lovely - I say it all the time, but it's always so true. You always keep me going with these stories. Special thank you to:** saderia, jennifer32485, FoxPhile, NothatRose, Sweet LIL loz, piper maru duchovny, montanascreed, Meredith and Derek, ioanhoratio, jorizo, afrozenheart412, 18lzytwner, Hope06, & messermonroeforever125.

* * *

**This one is set about a month or so after Personal Foul. **

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* * *

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**Only You Can Love Me This Way – Keith Urban**

"_I could have turned a different corner; I could have gone another different place, but then I would have never had this feeling that I've felt today."_

_

* * *

_

Handing Danny his helmet, Lindsay took a deep breath. "I'm really not sure, you know..."

"What's not to be sure about? It's just my Ma and Pa, they'll love you."

"But Danny..."

"What? I bring guys from the team home all the time; home cooked meal – conversation other than what Shane Casey did while he was in transfer from one prison to another again... They're used to it. You'll have a great time, Linds."

Lindsay let out a slow breath as she mentally dragged her feet up the drive way.

She would have thought that he would have referred to her as more than just a team member. Hell, more than just a friend. She didn't even get that.

Lindsay glanced up to see Danny holding the door open for her. "You comin'?"

She took a deep breath as she picked up her pace and joined Danny at the front door. His hand fell to the small of her back as he slowly guided her over the threshold of the house.

"MA! POP?!"

"BULLSHIT!"

Lindsay snapped up and stumbled backwards into Danny. "What the..."

"SAME TO YOU!" he bellowed as he tossed their helmets strategically onto a hook, indicating to Lindsay he'd done it many of times before. He headed into what Lindsay presumed to be the living room before turning and cocking his head to one side. "Wassa matter with you, you comin' or not?"

She quickly removed her shoes and followed him into the living room.

"MOM!? WE'RE HERE!"

Lindsay fought back the smile on her face. She'd not seen Danny bellow so much in her life. And since they'd stepped off the Staten Island Ferry, his accent had gone from almost understandable to about ninety nine percent incoherent.

"You gotta scream in this house," Danny explained as he tossed his leather jacket to the couch before taking Lindsay's bag and jacket. "Otherwise you don't get heard over the racket."

"It's a lovely house," Lindsay smiled as she examined the pictures hung on the walls.

"Yours is nicer," he smiled almost shyly at her. "But it is what it is. Suits us. MOM?!"

Lindsay, slowly becoming accustomed to Danny's bellowing, turned to further investigate the pictures on the walls. "Was this you in the academy?"

"Top of the class." Danny grinned. "Not bad for an ex minor league player, no?"

"I'll say so," Lindsay smiled as she traced the contours of his face with her index finger.

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw him blush slightly.

He'd asked her to dinner at his childhood home weeks upon weeks ago – to the point where she'd actually forgotten she'd agreed to go with him. After all, they had only just got back on track. He had reminded her the day before just in passing as he was coming onto shift and she was leaving.

She had smiled and nodded, pretending that she'd remembered and that was that.

It was then, after she'd left the confines of the lab she'd started to panic.

When he'd asked her, it had been when he was trying to do everything in his power to get her to talk to him, and well, she'd caved and told him yes to get him off of her back. She was just going to find an excuse and get out of going with him. Since then however, their relationship had progressed. With more time that she spent with him, she realised how sorry he was. How desperately he wanted to make it up to her. How he wanted things to be different. How he wanted her to see that he'd changed.

She now thought they were in some form of mended relationship. Although, with him potentially introducing her as a team member to his family after all that they'd been through almost put a downer on her mood. But, as she pushed that to one side, she plastered a smile on her face and straightened her back a little.

"MOMMY! What does it take to get some love round here?!"

"UNTWIST YOUR PANTIES," A female voice called from somewhere within the house. "I'M COMING."

"Take your time!" Danny called back to her. "I got all day to stand here and listen to my own voice. It's making a great impression on Lindsay!"

"LINDSAY'S HERE? WHY DIDN'T YOU SAY?"

"WHY ARE WE STILL SCREAMING?" Danny bellowed with a smirk on his face.

"BECAUSE IT'S THE ONLY WAY YOU GET HEARD AROUND HERE."

Danny turned to face Lindsay. "Told ya,"

Lindsay smiled at him just as what she presumed to be Danny's mother made her entrance into the living room.

"Daniel!"

"Mother," He smirked at her as she cupped his cheeks with her hands and kissed him. "Mom! C'mon!"

"Oh please," she rolled her eyes. "You knew it was coming." She pulled away and glanced at Lindsay before smiling brightly at her son. "Now, is this the girl you've been telling us about?"

"Mom!" Danny glared. "You're..." he sighed and rolled his eyes. "Yes, this is Lindsay. Lindsay, this is my mother who likes to wind me up. I don't talk about you, I swear."

Lindsay kept the fake smile plastered to her face as she leant forward and held out her hand to shake Danny's mother's hand. "It's nice...-"

Danny's mother wrapping her arms around Lindsay's small frame cut her off. "...To meet you." She finished.

"He does talk about you," Danny's mother whispered in Lindsay's ear. "He's just a little shy. I know for a fact that he cares a lot about you."

Lindsay giggled and glanced at Danny who was pretending not to hear a word that had just been said. Despite the deep shade of red he was...

"You guys are just in time for the second round of bullshit."

"Bullshit?" Lindsay asked with raised eyebrows.

"You never played Bullshit, Montana?" Danny smirked. "Where'd you grow up? Montana?"

"Ha-ha." She rolled her eyes. "I had the good games like Monopoly."

"I bet you did." He said with a wink. "Was that before or after you frolicked through the wheatfields?"

He ducked the newspaper being flung at his head, courtesy of his mother.

"Mom, you mind? You're giving me a headache."

"I'll give you more than a damn headache if you don't start bein' nice to this girl, kid."

Danny straightened his back a little.

"Didn't think I'd bring it up so soon, did you?" she smirked almost evilly at her son. "As you can see, you were mistaken."

"I got that," Danny sighed. "Mom please... We're trying to move past it, k? We really want to just..."

"So, he tells me you're from Montana, Lindsay." Kate asked, changing the subject.

"Oh that came into conversation did it?" Lindsay smirked. "Yeah, I am. And he doesn't let me forget it."

"I like her," Kate turned and said loudly to Danny. "Do me a favour and be nice to her. None of that bullshit I've been hearing about."

"She doesn't like it when I'm nice." Danny teased lightly, praying to the Gods above that it wasn't too soon to make such a joke. "Tell her honey."

Lindsay smiled sweetly before glaring at him. "He's only ever nice if he wants his shifts covered."

"You two, if you can joke so soon are more perfect for each other than I first thought... Either that, or the late nights and early mornings have made you lose your sanity..." Kate smiled as she glanced at Lindsay's outfit. She got to her shoes and furrowed her brow at Lindsay's socked feet. "Darlin', why on earth don't you have shoes on?" she turned to Danny. "Did she come with shoes?"

"I didn't pick her up from the toy store, Mom. It's not as if they didn't come in her box." He paused and smirked. "Although, she's so tiny you could buy her and keep her in your pocket, don't ya think?"

"I am right here." Lindsay huffed.

"She grew up with hardwood floors," Danny began to explain to his mother. "None of this Bronx marble crap. She has those things called manners. That and if you take your shoes off, she thinks she'll get more than what she came for."

"If you want more dessert then you're gonna have to fight Danny for that my love," Kate smiled. "He gets a little territorial."

Lindsay smiled and shook her head. "I've noticed. He doesn't like to share food."

"What? Danny doesn't share food." Danny shrugged as if it was simple and common knowledge. "And neither does Montana... So don't let her sweet smile fool you."

"Can you tell Friends made a huge impression on him?" Kate smirked at her son as she patted him on the cheek. "He didn't throw a 'we were on a break' at you over your separation thing, did he?"

Lindsay bit her lip to stop her from laughing. For some unknown reason, seeing Danny's mother subtly ream Danny for everything that had happened between them was amusing her more than it probably should when she took into account all the heartbreak and tears she had shed.

"Put your shoes on, love. You don't have to have manners here." Kate smiled, bringing Lindsay from her thoughts. "I tried drumming it into Danny and I failed. I've come to accept it now."

"He has manners at times," Lindsay smiled. "He can be quite the gentleman."

"If it benefits him." Kate added.

Lindsay giggled.

"WHAT TIME IS DANNY AND THE MONTANA GIRL GONNA GET HERE?"

"WE'RE HERE NOW, PA!" Danny bellowed as a desperate attempt to shut his father up.

"BRING HER OUT HERE!"

"You'll have to excuse my husband," Kate sighed as she ushered Lindsay from the living room into the dining room and then through the patio doors. "It's like father, like son in regards to the manners."

Lindsay emerged out onto the patio a little after Danny and his mother to four sets of eyes staring at her in silence.

She gulped and smiled shyly. "Hi,"

The three men coughed and Kate smiled. "They're not used to pretty girls." She quickly explained.

"Well, we're used to pretty girls. Just not pretty girls that Danny brings back home."

"Hey, hey! Was that called for?" Danny huffed as he took a seat. "Bustin' my onions already?"

"Boys! Be nice."

Danny smirked at his mother. "How you doin' Louie?"

"Me? I'm doin' good. What about you baby brother? You done acting like a dick and screwing with Lindsay's head yet?"

Danny bit his lip and glanced to Lindsay. "I..."

"I'm screwing with you," Louie quickly interrupted. "Lindsay knows better than to put up with shit like that, so you've obviously made it up to her somehow..." Louie smirked with a raised brow.

"Enough!" A fist banged on the patio table to gain everyone's attention. "I'm the one that snaps them into place." A male figure smiled as he stood and moved around the patio table to where Lindsay stood. "I'm Vince."

"Nice to meet you," Lindsay smiled, her mind inwardly screaming at her to find something to change the subject with. "I hear you're playing bullshit?"

Vince nodded. "You up for it?"

Lindsay smiled and nodded. "You'll have to teach me. I've never played."

Danny leant back in his seat and stretched confidently.

Vince directed Lindsay to sit next to him and handed her a stack of cards. "Aim is to get rid of all your cards. Start at Ace and go up from there. If you gotta bullshit your way through, then you bullshit your way through; you have to put a card down on your turn an' if you don't, you're collecting the deck that's on the table. You think someone's lying you bellow bullshit and then... well, you'll get the hang of it... Does it make sense so far?"

Lindsay smiled. The homemade Monroe family Bullshit trophies she had hidden in a box somewhere back at her apartment was saying it made complete sense.

"I'm sure I'll figure it out." She flashed a smile as she fanned her cards out. "I take it Danny's in his element." She gestured to him as he sat with a wide grin across his face.

"He's gone undefeated every time we play." Kate explained. "He tends to get the shit eatin' grin every time bullshit gets mentioned."

"Well, we'll see how good of a bullshitter Lindsay is." Louie piped up.

Lindsay settled in her chair.

Ready to wipe the grin from Danny's face.

* * *

"Bullshit!" Lindsay cried, tears streaming from her eyes.

"GET OUT!" Danny cried. "NO! NO! NO!"

"Bullshit!" Lindsay continued to giggle.

"No! No there's no way!"

"You heard me." Lindsay now snorted in laughter. "I said bullshit."

"You..." Danny let out a long frustrated breath as he began picking up the cards on the table. "It's beginners luck. It has'ta be."

Lindsay flashed an innocent smile to Kate and Vince.

"It's your turn," she smiled at Danny.

"Three fives."

Lindsay stretched in her chair as she gathered her cards and placed them down on the table. "Two sixes."

Danny sat back slightly, but stayed quiet."Four sevens."

"Three eights."

"Three nines."

"Bullshit," Lindsay cried.

"NO!" Danny cried. "No. No..."

"You heard her, Danny."

"She's cheatin'..." he cried. "You're cheatin'."

"It's beginner's luck." Louie smirked from where he sat in his chair. "I'm so glad we decided to let them duke it out."

"And it was genius to leave a hand to the side so it wasn't that easy to figure out who had what," Kate added.

Looking at his deck of cards, Danny let out a growl as he rearranged them. "Two sixes my ass, Lindsay. A king and a ten? Are you serious?"

"Should have called it," Lindsay smirked. "It's your turn."

"I don't want to play," he huffed as he threw his cards onto the table and pushed back from where he was sat.

"Goodbye then," Kate smirked. "Go wallow in your own self pity at losing. You're fantastic at that..."

Danny glared at his mother before stomping like a child inside his childhood home, leaving Lindsay with his family.

Alone.

"Don't take it personally," Vince began. "I've been dealing with losing tantrums since he could hold a baseball bat. I blame the Italian in him."

"And I blame the influence that made him so competitive." Kate glared at her husband. "We'll send you up in a few minutes and he'll apologise for acting like a baby..."

Lindsay smiled nervously, making Kate move her chair closer to her. "It's okay you know..."

"I know I just... I hope he isn't..."

"Serious? Mad? Angry? Honey, don't think twice about it."

Lindsay plastered her fake smile across her face. "I guess I'm still a little sensitive."

Kate and Vince sighed in sync to the other. "We raised him better than that."

"There was a lot that happened," Lindsay began. "I don't think he meant what he did... I actually don't even think he realised what he was doing at the time if I'm honest."

"Sweetheart, there's no excuse in the world that justifies what we all know he did."

Lindsay glanced down to her lap.

"We knew something had gone south when he stopped mentioning you in the odd phone call we got... Then when his lovely friend Donald called..."

Lindsay snorted inwardly, missing the latter part of Kate's sentence.

"... I knew it was time for an ass kicking after he did that... with her."

Lindsay blinked as her heart raced. "Did what with who?"

"Hung up on his Aunt." Kate laughed. "Did you get lost for a minute there, honey?"

Lindsay nodded, her heart slowly regaining it's usual beat. "Will he have cooled down yet?"

"Go and see." Vince shrugged. "He gives you crap, come get me and I'll put the fear of God into the kid."

"How?" Lindsay asked with wide eyes.

"Take him down to the field and have him hit home runs consecutively." Vince smirked. "If he doesn't; it's laps."

Lindsay laughed. "I'll be sure to let him know."

"And let him know that if he doesn't get his act together, the baby pictures are coming out." Kate added.

Lindsay smiled as she stood from her chair and made her way inside.

"Looking for pouting beauty?" a voice said from inside the fridge as Lindsay walked past the kitchen.

"Yeah," She giggled as Louie's head popped over the door. "Direct me to where he is?"

"Top of the stairs, turn left as soon as you reach the top. And watch the third step. It creaks."

Lindsay smiled in thanks and headed off upstairs.

Her heart began to race as she reached the top of the stairs; bracing herself to face an irate Danny.

She knocked on the door and waited for him to answer. "Danny?"

"Linds?"

"Can I come in?"

The door opened and Danny held the door open for her. "What the hell you knockin' for?" he implored as her ushered in.

"Well, I thought... I thought..."

"You thought I was pissed at you?" he finished her sentence. "Linds." His tone was filled with... disappointment.

"Well, I wasn't sure whether..." She trailed off as she took in the features of his bedroom. "So this is your old room?" she smiled.

He nodded as he picked up a battered catching mitt. "Is it what you imagined?"

She smirked as she took in the dark blue walls, accompanied by matching carpet and bedding. The walls were filled with baseball memorabilia, both from pro players, and Danny's own experience through the years.

"Pretty much," she smiled. "Are you... okay?"

He nodded as he tossed the mitt onto his dresser and took her hand, before leading her to his bed and lying across it sideways so that their feet still touched the carpeted floor.

"I'm just pissed."

"... At me?" Lindsay asked tentatively as she turned her neck to look at him. "Cause I was just messing when we were playing bullshit..."

"Lindsay, how could I be mad at you. You didn't do anything."

A part of her was relieved at his confession. But the other part of her was highly confused. "What's the matter then?"

"I'm just mad," he sighed. "With myself," he quickly added. "I thought that I could deal with my Mom, Dad and Louie bustin' my onions for how I've been recently, and I dunno... because we've not really been going into it and just moving on, I guess it's riled me up hearing it from an outside point of view."

"They're definitely up front and honest," Lindsay agreed.

"It's stupid, and probably selfish of me, but I don't want reminding of how I treated you... Does that make sense?"

Lindsay nodded. "I guess it does. If we keep dwelling on it, we'd never move past it."

"Exactly." Danny nodded. "And they should know better than to mention it in front of you. It's insensitive and I expected them to have a little more... class about it?"

"But Danny, we were playing bullshit; we weren't talking about us."

"It was my excuse to make a scene if you will," he sighed as he shifted to his side so that he now was towering over Lindsay as she lay up facing him. "Probably not directed in the right place, and makes no sense, but I swear Lindsay it wasn't directed at you."

Lindsay nodded.

"I'm just frustrated." He admitted.

"Why don't you just tell them not to mention it then?" Lindsay suggested. "I'm sure if you asked..."

"See, it's easier said than done," Danny interrupted her. "And anyway, they're saying the things that I deserve to have said to me."

Lindsay fell silent.

"And you're too nice to say what they want to say to me."

"Or perhaps I know that it's unnecessary because we want to move on, don't we?"

Danny nodded.

"So take my hand and let's go and enjoy the rest of the afternoon with your mom and dad okay?"

Danny arched an eyebrow. "You sure?"

"We can just pretend I kicked your butt for acting like a baby." She smiled playfully.

Danny sighed as he fought the smile that tugged at his lips.

Seeing this, Lindsay's fingers went to Danny's love handles and began their assault as she tickled him, desperate to get him to smile.

He fought her for a moment, his own fingers desperate to reach Lindsay's ticklish spots, but she was too quick for him and quickly had him pinned underneath her as she stradled his lap; giving her a free reign of his ticklish areas.

"You win!" he cried, tears of laughter streaming down his face. "You win, baby!"

She stopped abruptly and stared at him for a second, tears rising in her eyes.

"What?" he asked, his concern growing. "What's the matter?"

"You've never called me that before," Lindsay whispered.

Danny sat up slightly before pressing a kiss to her lips. His fingers tangled in her hair as he brought her down to his teenage bed as she lay on top of him.

"Losing you made me open my eyes," he whispered. "Seeing all the different ways in which I could have gone, and then you giving me that chance... I could have never had the opportunity to feel what I've felt for you today. I know that doesn't explain the name, but I guess its all part of the person I'm now trying to be. This Danny has new nicknames for his Montana."

His arms brought her closer as she gave him an Eskimo kiss with her nose. "Sounds good to me," she whispered before pressing another kiss to his lips.

Lindsay laced her fingertips through Danny's styled hair as he brought her to the bed with him, his own fingers making their way down her sides to the hem of her shirt. Just as his fingers were about to lift the material from her body, a voice sounded at the door.

"My eyes!! My eyes! Oh my god! My eyes. Danny!"

"Louie?" Danny spat as Lindsay tumbled to the mattress, hiding herself behind Danny. "What? What do you want?"

"Mom sent me up to make sure Montana over there had punished you for actin' like a kid... But I see she was doin' a good job of it in her own little way."

"Act your age," Danny spat as he sat up on the bed. "And shut the door, Linds and I are in the middle of a conversation."

"Clearly," Louie smirked as he took hold of the door handle. "Make sure you use protection, kiddo."

A rising feeling of dread spread through Lindsay; but she couldn't quite pinpoint what it was that had filled her with dread.

Louie shut the door and Danny collapsed back to the bed, facing Lindsay. He bit his lip and pressed a kiss to her lips. "I'm sorry..."

"It's fine," she smiled. "We should probably head back downstairs though."

Danny nodded. "I'm gettin' hungry."

Rolling her eyes, Lindsay slugged Danny as he helped her from his bed. "Honestly... you and your stomach."

Danny chuckled as he laced his fingers through Lindsay's and led her out of the bedroom.

"I'm running to the bathroom," he told her. "Meet you downstairs?"

She nodded and turned to start making her way down the stairs, but as she did so, Danny took hold of her hand and swung her toward him and pressed a kiss to her temple. "Maybe tonight we could... you know..."

She smiled and nodded slightly. "Maybe."

Danny pressed a kiss to the tip of her nose before he turned on his heel and headed down the hall to the bathroom, letting Lindsay make her way down the stairs.

She couldn't shake the feeling of dread down inside of her; and it just wasn't sitting right with her. Why had she gotten so worked up over the mention of protecti...

Her heart stopped as she stood in the middle of the staircase.

She knew exactly why she had that feeling of dread within her. It began with her rain walk and finished with him walking her home after she'd gone to his to tell him how hard he was to love. And somewhere in between, while she had been there, they'd gotten sidetracked by reconnecting the lovemaking side of their relationship.

And that had been nearly a month ago.

She took a deep breath, and then swallowed it as her chest began to feel tight; like she couldn't get a deep enough breath.

In quite a different sense to what Danny had meant it earlier, she had never had experienced the feeling she was feeling at this moment in time.

And by God did it panic her.

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**I know this was a little different to the previous ones, but I'm bridging to the next 'chapter' of DL that we saw on screen. Well, the bits we saw. And because we never got well... anything in this period for DL, I'm using my creative licsense. Thanks for reading. I hope you enjoyed - and as always, your comments and thoughts are very much appreciated :) **


	10. Lie

**A/N: I hope you liked last chapter, and some of you are busy like myself and read, enjoyed, but didn't have the time to review. **

**Now, regarding Lindsay's pregnancy; I give up trying to place it in regards to where and when she found out and all that stuff... I guess with this one, could you guys maybe suspend your disbelief and overlook if I make a huge mistake in regards to the timeline. It's like cracking damn codes sometimes! **

**Anyway. Enough rambling from me. A huge, huge thank you to everyone who took the time to review last chapter – I really appreciated all of your kind words. Special mention to: **dl-shipper34, piper maru duchovny, Jennifer32485, montanascreed, Juliab24, The-Kiwi-CSI, messermonroeforever125, nothatrose, saderia, Meredith and Derek, afrozenheart412, and jorizo. :)

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**Set sometime in season 5. Around 'Enough' and 'My Name is Mac Taylor' we'll say?**

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**Lie, David Cook**

"_So lie to me and tell me that it's gonna be alright. So lie to me and tell me that we'll make it through the night. I don't mind if you wait before you tear me apart; but look me in the eye, and lie, lie, lie." _

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Sitting on the edge of her bathtub, Lindsay Monroe buried her head in her hands. Her heart was racing. She felt sick. She was anxious. Most of all; she was damn scared.

Waiting for the result felt like a lifetime; and she still had another minute and a half to go.

She took a deep breath, preparing herself for either outcome. Pregnant or not pregnant.

Until Louie had mentioned protection to her and Danny days before, their night together had completely slipped her mind. Her relationship with Danny had been in tatters, and she had... She had no excuse. Not really.

When she'd gone to the pharmacy she could have cried. Not because she thought that she was pregnant; but the fact that she'd told Danny she was tired and had him drop her off without even a mention as to where she was going and what she was buying... without him.

And as she had stood there, she had run her fingers through her hair as she let her eyes scan the display. It was almost like a kick in the gut; condoms above the pregnancy tests. What kind of joke was that? 'Oops, looks like you forgot one of these, so take your pick with one of these fantastic pregnancy tests we have right underneath to remind you of what you probably should have used but were too caught up in the moment to think about.' Her mind took a breath after screaming at her.

All she had known was that for one night her tears weren't hitting her pillow. And she'd reconnected somewhat with the man she had found to be too difficult to let go of.

She'd in a way asked him to lie to her that night. She had lain wrapped in his arms; the only thing covering their naked bodies was the sheet, all the while gathering the courage to ask him to tell her that things would be okay. She'd asked him to promise her that things would be different. And he'd nodded and pressed a kiss to her shoulder as his arms held her close to his chest, her back pressed against him. His hold had been tight. Protective. She'd felt safe. He had promised her that he'd be a different kind of boyfriend. That he'd make things up to her, and treat her like how she deserved. Like a princess if that was what she wanted. She knew they were empty promises; but they gave her a little bit of hope when she'd hit rock bottom in their relationship.

She had then turned and looked him in his eyes; his uncertainty at what he just promised her shining bright.

"Promise?" she had whispered, her eyes searching his. He'd blinked before pressing a kiss to her lips. "Promise." He'd reassured her.

Both of them knew that it had been a lie that night, and she knew that he couldn't promise her those things, simply because he didn't know what tomorrow held for them. That being said; when she considered the direction they were heading in right now, they had been doing a good job of building their relationship back up as of late... until now at least.

She glanced at her watch as she drew in another deep breath. Her heart felt like it was about to explode from her chest cavity. She'd never been so scared. She'd never felt so alone before. She slid down the side of her bath, and sat on her bathroom floor, her knees tucked into her chest as she took a deep breath. She swallowed and glanced at her watch once again.

It had been three minutes.

It was time.

She took a deep breath, the butterflies and anxiety in her stomach made sure she took a moment before she sat up and reached for the pregnancy test that sat on her bathroom counter. She swallowed as her hand reached up and her fingertips slid across the smooth surface, searching for the test. She'd only picked one up at the store; simply to confirm what she already knew. She squeezed her eyes shut as she lowered the test to her vision level and took in a few deep breaths before letting them out slowly. Whatever happened, it was going to happen for a reason. She took three more deep breaths before making herself peel her eyes open. In her trembling hand, she turned the pregnancy test to face her and read the result.

Pregnant.

Lindsay let out a breath, despite feeling like the wind had been knocked from her. She slumped against the bathtub, letting the test fall to the floor next to her. She laid her head back and let the cool porcelain from the bath calm her. She knew that really she should call him. Tell him.

But she couldn't.

She swallowed and prepared herself to stand; but as she did so, her cell phone began to vibrate in her pocket. She pulled it out; almost praying it was work so that she didn't have to do what she knew she probably should. Her heart sank when she saw the goofy smile and the words Danny Messer staring up at her.

It was like he knew exactly what she was doing.

She knew she couldn't talk to him. Her voice would give her away and the last thing she wanted was to tell him that she was pregnant with his baby over the phone. She wanted to tell him after she'd processed it herself. She wanted to be able to control her emotions when he said he didn't want anything to do with her and the baby.

A tear slid down her cheek. Things were going well for once. Things with them were getting back on track. A baby being thrown in the works would definitely throw everything they had just gotten back, up into the air. She didn't want her first born to only have her as a parent. She didn't want to have to explain to her son or daughter why everyone he or she knew lived with their Daddy, and he or she only knew Daddy as one of the people that Mommy worked with.

She berated herself for being so harsh on Danny when she'd not even given him the opportunity to step up and prove himself. She knew her thoughts were irrational, and the Danny she knew would never leave her or their child; but in the same sense, the Danny she _thought _she knew had proved her wrong over the past few months. And had done a good job of doing so. She figured that if she prepared for the worst; anything better was... well, luck. For the lack of a better word.

He'd want to know why she didn't answer; what with it being barely eight o'clock, and why she'd not called him back afterward. And even though she'd never lied to him before in her life; she'd just have to look him in the eye, and lie.

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**Thanks for reading guys. Hope you enjoyed somewhat even though it was a bit angsty! :)**


	11. Moving Mountains

**A/N: Thank you all so much for your amazing feedback from last chapter. Honestly, it blew me away; so thank you all for that! **

**This particular one is a little different to what we saw on screen. I'm unsure whether it fits into the timeline, but it was an idea that was constantly niggling at me to try out. Hope you enjoy!**

**Special mention and huge thank you to: **messermonroeforever125, piper maru duchovny, ioanhoratio, kdzl, daytimedrama, saderia, Nothatrose, afrozenheart412, jorizo, MoonlightDancerxxx, rebandmel, pretty7, 18lzytwner, Margot, Dine89, Jennifer32485, DantanaMM, Fainting Maid, prplerayne, Meredith and Derek, iheartcsinewyork and unlikelyRLshipper. And Stuffy - who left me a lovely post on Facebook :)

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**This one is set the day before 5x09 - The Box**

* * *

**Moving Mountains – Usher**

_The love that she used to give me can't be found. __I lost my way; she said she'd stay... But lately I've been sleeping with a ghost. _

* * *

Danny was awake. He was awake, but he dared not to open his eyes; or move for that matter. He hated the idea of Lindsay not being there when he put his arm to where she _had been_ next to him.

He peeled an eye open and his worst fear was confirmed. She wasn't there.

He felt a sinking in his chest. They'd done so well recently; and things had been good... until they had gone to his parents. He'd dropped her off and she'd been avoiding him like the plague ever since. He couldn't understand what had changed other than himself and how he was trying to be the guy that he'd promised her that he would be. He was more attentive. He tried to show her how he cared. He appreciated Lindsay more. He had come out of the depressive shell he had curled up into the past few months, despite the secret he was still holding from her.

A week ago he'd followed her around at work all day; they'd even engaged in a little teasing about him catching a lift on the speedboat, while she took the safe option of going out with the Coastguard. He'd heard them offer her going out on the speedboat, and she'd dramatically shaken her head, assuring Stella that she'd go with her and the Coastguard. Now, he knew Lindsay; and to be able to go on a speedboat was an opportunity Lindsay would have jumped on.

Then there was the case with the Mac Taylors, she'd barely uttered a word to him that was anything but case related.

He let out a breath. Something wasn't right.

He heard a crash in the kitchen and then a muttered curse word. His ears perked up and he rolled out of bed, stretching as he crossed his bedroom and emerged into the living room.

Danny smiled for a moment as he saw Lindsay pottering around the kitchen in her shorts and his work shirt from the day before. He made his way toward her and wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her into him. "Morning," he said with a kiss to her temple.

"Morning," she said.

"What are you doing up, babe?" he asked as he pressed kisses down her neck, leading to her shoulder.

She shrugged and wiggled to get out of Danny's arms. "I didn't want to waste the day. I'm working at three."

"But it's eight-thirty," Danny reminded her, "come back to bed."

"Danny..."

"Linds, what's the matter?"

"I have a bunch of stuff to do. I need to go to the dry cleaners and pick up my slacks; I need to run to the bank; I have to run to the grocery store and pick up a few things..."

"And that's gonna take you like five hours?"

"There could be a line."

Danny raised his eyebrow disbelievingly. "Lindsay, there's something wrong."

"There isn't." She tried to assure him.

He sighed as she wiggled away from him and the hold he had on her. "Linds..."

"Just leave me be." Lindsay growled at him. "Leave me to do this stuff I need to do, Danny."

"Linds," he said as he took hold of her hand, lacing his fingertips through her's. "Lindsay... what's the matter babe?"

"Nothing, okay." She snapped. "I have stuff to do."

He let go of her hand and held his hand up. "Fine, alright... Sure."

She offered him a thankful smile before turning back to the counter top where she had been arranging her breakfast.

"I have stuff for waffles." Danny said as he moved so that his back was against the counter and he was facing her. "Wanna take a seat and I'll set you up for a good rest of the day with my culinary skills?"

"I'm fine with toast." She said as she took a bite.

"It's dry, Lindsay." He observed with an arched eyebrow. "Put somethin' on it... I got some cream cheese in the fridge there... or I dunno, margarine; hell, put peanut butter and jelly on it if you want... just... Something... Anything."

"I'm not used to having breakfast," Lindsay shrugged. "Dry toast is fine. It's just something to keep me going."

Danny pursed his lips. She always ate breakfast.

He nodded regardless, "What you drinking there, Linds?"

"Tea." She said instantly.

"Tea? To start the day with? Have you gone crazy, babe? Turn the coffee machine on."

"I'm trying to cut down on how much coffee I'm drinking," she shrugged.

"Hmm," Danny paused. "I might try that too. Let me see that tea... You might be onto something with that," he smiled as his hand went to pick up her mug.

"You won't like it," she snapped as she grabbed the cup; making the contents fizz. "It's herbal."

Danny nodded, still trying to figure out whether it was chemically possible for tea to fizz and bubble as much as Lindsay's just had. He had a strong inkling that the herbal tea was ginger ale. Dry toast and ginger ale... something didn't add up.

"Can I have a hug?" Danny inquired.

"Danny, I'm having my breakfast."

"I know, but I just want to hold you for a minute or two before our busy schedules mean that we have to spend the rest of the day running past each other in the hallway."

She sighed as she threw her toast to her plate. Padding across to him, she wrapped her arms around him, and just as she was about to back away, his arms enclosed her, enveloping her in a hug.

She swallowed as she casted her eyes down to her stomach; her heart racing with every second that he kept his arms around her.

"It feels like we've lost our way, Linds."

She inhaled and exhaled deeply; her mind screaming at her to calm down as he locked his arms around her a little tighter.

He pressed a kiss to her temple and his nose then went to her's, giving her an Eskimo kiss.

She smiled at him and pressed a kiss to his lips, before taking a step back. He let her move away from him, but as she did so he wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her back into him holding her across her stomach.

"Danny... please let go of me." She sniffed tearfully as he pressed a kiss to her shoulder. "Get your hands off my stomach,"

"Lindsay..." his eyes and tone of his voice made him sound like he was heartbroken. Like he didn't know what to do or say for the best. "What's going on with you?"

"I'm coming down with something." She lied. "I'm not feeling well. I just don't want you pushing on my stomach; I'm finding it hard to keep things down and I don't want pressure on it. I think it's a stomach bug. I didn't want you to worry." The way in which she had loaded her lie onto him she was positive that he'd see right through it.

"Call Mac," Danny said as he loosened his hold on her, "You can't be working when you're not feeling well."

"I can't," she said taking a breath, "you've seen how busy we are recently. I can't leave him hanging like that. I'll be fine. I need something to take my mind off of it."

"I'm not going to win here, am I?" Danny sighed as he let go of her and backed away. "Whatever I say you're not going to listen to me, are you?"

"The world doesn't stop," she shrugged. "I need to get on with stuff."

"But Lindsay, if you've come down with something, you need to take it easy."

Slamming her cup on the counter, Lindsay turned, oblivious to the contents spilling on the counter top. "Why do you have to keep on at me, Danny?"

"Because I care," he spat. "Because I care if you're not well. I don't want my girl to get sick, 'k? You never get sick, so when you are, I know there's something wrong. Have you been to the Doctors?"

"No, but I'll just pick something up at the pharmacy today on my way into work."

"Why don't you try getting one for tomorrow?"

"It's really not that bad," Lindsay sighed. "I think I ate something funny. That's all."

"What if you made an appointment during your lunch break?"

"I'm taking off work to look at a sub-let in Brooklyn," she sighed. "I can't take time off through my lunch break, Danny. Mac's being nice enough to me as it is."

"Want me to come with you? I can get off work; make sure it's a good enough apartment for you? Make sure it's in a safe area and all that..."

"I'm a big girl, Danny... I don't need you holding my hand."

"Lindsay, I'm really trying to be a better guy, but it's like whatever I do I just can't get through to you right now."

"Everything isn't always about you, Danny. I was trying for a hell of a long time to get through to you, and nothing did. I'm just not feeling well and I have a bunch of stuff I need to do."

"I know that baby, but ever since we got back from my Mom and Dad's it's like... it's like something changed. We're not the same."

"I've been really tired," Lindsay shrugged.

"So have I, but we're always tired Linds, so that's no excuse. We don't hold each other like we used to. We barely talk. I know that it's going to take time to get back to where we were, I swear... I know that... Just at my parents, I got the impression you wanted to move onwards... And now it feels like we've taken about three steps back. I want to be the guy you deserve Lindsay, but it feels like we're barely holding on to what we once were."

Tears pooled in Lindsay's eyes.

"The bad that happened to us took away all the good that we once were," he whispered as he took her into his arms. "I'm trying to move this mountain in front of us, Lindsay... But with everything that's going on right now, it's proving to be really hard. If there's something you need to tell me, you need to tell me... I can't read minds, and if I can fix it, I'll do anything and everything in my power to do so... but you need to tell me that you want it fixing, Linds. I really care about you and want to make this work."

Lindsay blinked and turned her back as she grabbed her plate and mug. "I know you do, I just... I need some time."

"I gave you time," he said as he grabbed the plate and mug from her and placed it back on the counter. "I gave you time when you went to Montana. I backed away because I didn't know what I had to lose. I know exactly what I have to lose this time, Lindsay, and I'm not going to let that happen because I was so close to losing you. Things haven't the same since Ruben died, and I wanna make it right."

"I wish you _could_ make this right," Lindsay whispered. "I wish you could tell me what to do."

"Tell you what to do about what, Lindsay?" Danny said with a kiss to her temple.

"Nothing," she whispered. "I'm just... it's been a tough few months," she shrugged. "That's all. I guess I'm run down and I ate something that didn't agree with me."

Danny closed his eyes as he pressed a kiss to her temple. "I'm gonna go back to bed," he whispered; his emotions running short. She could tell he was on the brink of tears, but there was nothing that she could do.

"Okay, well I had better get going."

"I'll see you at six," he said, "Take it easy for me, k?" he added with a kiss to her forehead. "And think about it... If you want me to come with you to look at that sub-let, I'd be more than happy to."

She smiled and nodded.

"And if you need me to pick you anything up, you know where I am, alright? If you don't get chance to grab anything before work, I can bring you something when I come in."

She nodded against his chest. "I know, thanks Danny."

"Have a good day, Linds."

She pressed a kiss to his jaw before he turned and headed out of his kitchen and back to his empty bedroom.

As she watched him go, she felt guilt rising through her. It killed her treating him like that; but she wasn't ready to tell him about her being pregnant. She had no idea where she'd gotten the lie in the form of the sub-let in Brooklyn from, but it had worked. She knew for a fact that she couldn't unload her being pregnant on him when she hadn't even managed to get her head around it properly. Finding a way to tell him that was proving to be difficult; she knew it wasn't fair on him... It was too much and she knew that. Her second appointment at the Doctors would fall nicely into the time slot she'd mentioned to him regarding the sub-let, lessening the suspicion she knew that he would have. And after this appointment, she knew she had to tell him. Seeing her baby for the second time would possibly make it feel more real... And as soon as it clicked, she knew she'd be able to tell him. But until then; she would have to keep finding ways to hide the fact she was carrying his baby. Watching as he tried to move mountains that laid in their way.

* * *

**Hope you liked this one and the reason as to why Lindsay was 'off' with him made sense in the end. **

**Thanks for reading :)**


	12. What Hurts the Most

**Now, this is the product somewhat of nothatrose's review. (completely different sense to what you meant, m'love, but still!) ****I have always thought about writing this, and nothatrose's review finally made me put down my own personal scenario regarding this scene into words. And ioanhoratio's review gave me the little nudge to get it posted... And written today for that matter! haha. ****So, this one is dedicated to you two :)**

**Hope you all enjoy! **

**And finally, thank you to all those who read/reviewed with your kind words- special mention to:** piper maru duchovny, iheartcsinewyork, Apparently I am not logged in - LOL!, kdzl, messermonroeforever125, jennifer32485, Meredith and Derek, saderia, afrozenheart412, NothatRose, ioanhoratio, Dine89 and ncisabbylover!

* * *

**This one is set after TEH locker room scene, where Danny walks out in 5x09 - The Box**

**

* * *

**

What Hurts the Most, Rascal Flatts

_What hurts the most, was being so close, and having so much to say; and watching you walk away._

_

* * *

_As Lindsay shut the door to her locker, she felt a tear slip down her cheek.

Everything she had prayed not to happen; happened in a matter of minutes and her worst nightmare had come true. It wasn't that Danny had demanded answers. Nor was it that Danny looked terrified. It wasn't even him questioning her actually being pregnant... But that he looked her in the eyes and walked away.

Quite frankly, it crushed her. She felt like she'd been stabbed in the gut, while her heart ached at his reaction. Out of all the scenarios that had been playing in her head when she had told him; that had been the one thing she had dared not to think about. She didn't want to have to think about that.

If she had prayed for him not to do one thing, it had been that he didn't walk away. Which was exactly what he had done.

She squeezed her eyes shut as she turned and laid her head against her locker for support. _This is it_; she thought to herself, _you really are alone in this. You and your baby. Alone. All alone. _

She bit her lip and wiped the tears spilling down her cheek. She had to compose herself. She was at work – and she could not and would not let _him_ affect her job and how she conducted herself... again at least. She was in the locker room and anyone at anytime could come on in, and wonder why she was crying. Inquire what was wrong. And out of worry, they'd probably go on and tell Mac.

And that was the last thing she needed right now.

She had so much she wanted to say to him. She wanted to tell him why she had kept it from him. She wanted to tell him how scared she was. She wanted to tell him how unsure she was – whether she was making the right decision. She knew that she was... but knowing it, and hearing it from the one person she wanted to hear it from was quite different.

She heard the door open and turned quickly, taking the opportunity to wipe her eyes and plaster a smile across her face. She straightened up and took a deep breath as she turned.

"Why aren't you expecting anything from me?"

Lindsay swallowed.

"Why didn't you tell me sooner?"

The tears rose in Lindsay's eyes.

"Lindsay!"

"Not here," she whispered as she swiped at the tear that fell. "Not now."

"You decided to tell me here, so yeah, let's do it here. Why aren't you expecting anything from me?"

"Why am I not expecting anything from you?" Lindsay repeated in disbelief. "Why? Because you just walked out of here Danny. You walked away from me. That's why."

"You didn't know I would walk away." Danny spat. "You didn't know that when you said that. What were you trying to do? Hurt me?"

"Hurt you?" Lindsay blinked. "Hurt you? Are you serious? You think I said that to hurt you? I said it because it's true Danny. I'm not expecting anything from you."

"What the hell Lindsay?"

"What the hell?" She spat. "Are you kidding me? I'm not doing this here Danny." Lindsay said, shaking her head. "No way."

"You told me in here," Danny spat, grabbing Lindsay's hand as she tried to pass him. "So finish telling me in here."

"Let go of me," She sniffed as tears rose in her eyes. "I need to get back to work."

"Let me get this straight..." Danny continued regardless. "Yesterday when you were sick, you were pregnant... and today when you were looking at that sub-let, you were really taking off work to go to your appointment... And you didn't even consider asking me to come with you?"

"Consider it?" Lindsay snorted. "Danny, for the past two weeks, all I've done is considered telling you. How I was going to tell you... what I was going to say... where I was going to say it... But each time I considered it, I never, ever thought you would walk away from me." She said, shaking her head. "These past few months have been dead tough on me, and this baby is just the cherry on the top."

"And they haven't been tough on me?" Danny implored. "Ruben died, Lindsay..."

"And apparently the Danny I knew died with him." She snapped. It was like the last thread holding her together had finally snapped. "I don't even know who you are anymore. I've had it up to here," she gestured above her head. "With your bullshit. The fact that you just walked out on me tells me everything I needed to know, Danny. Get out of my face."

"It tells you nothing, Lindsay." He continued.

"See, that's where you're mistaken; because you've made your opinion on this crystal clear." She sniffed. "Actions speak louder than words Danny. You just proved that."

"It's a hell of a lot to take."

"You're a CSI." She implored. "You're a detective. You're paid to be suspicious... you're paid to pick up on things. You can't even pick up on the fact that your so called girlfriend is gaining weight, throwing up and generally not acting herself. That to me would suggest something wasn't right."

"And you told me yesterday that you weren't well. I thought that was that."

"If I wasn't well, I wouldn't be gaining weight, Danny. If I wasn't eating and throwing up, I'd be losing weight." She stated. "I lied to you because I couldn't tell you. I was _that_ scared, I lied... Hoping that maybe... just maybe you'd pick up on that, and take the pressure and general terror from my shoulders in telling you that I was pregnant by figuring it out yourself... Was that wrong of me? Yes. But I didn't know what else to do."

Danny looked at her, his eyes, for the first time in their conversation glistening with tears. "You've never lied to me before."

She took a deep breath, ignoring the tear that slipped down her cheek. "Well, what can I say? It was working so well for you; I thought I might as well give it a go."

"Lindsay," Danny whispered. "Lindsay, why didn't you tell me as soon as you found out?"

"What so you could have walked away a lot earlier? At least when I told you today, I had subconsciously prepared myself for you walking away... Good job I did really, considering you did just that."

"I came back."

"Doesn't matter." Lindsay said, shaking her head. "You walked away."

"Lindsay, you can't just drop all of this on me and expect for me to just take it all in."

Lindsay licked her lips and drew in a breath as another tear slid down her cheek. "You were going to give Flack Nicole Harris' number for her parents. You ought to go and do that."

"It can wait." Danny spat.

"No it can't." Lindsay said, shaking her head. "I don't have the time for this. I promised myself that I wouldn't let my personal life affect my work again."

"This isn't just your life though, Lindsay."

"No you're right... It's my son or daughter's life too. Therefore I need to make sure I still have a job in nine months. So if you don't mind..."

"Lindsay, we need to talk about this."

"What is there to talk about?" Lindsay asked. "I'm pregnant. The ball's in your court now. You want to be a father to your son or daughter, then that's great; you let me know. If you don't... That's perfectly fine too. But when you give me that decision Danny, make sure you're making one that you can live with, because I swear, this is it. You can mess me around till your heart is content, but I will not let you mess my baby around."

"Lindsay... I-..."

"Not now," She said, holding her hand up. "I need to get back to work."

"Linds..."

"Danny please; just go and get Flack to contact Nicole's parents, okay?"

"When are we going to talk about this?"

Lindsay sighed. "Not right now."

"Lindsay... You can't expect me to sit here at work thinking over everything."

"Nicole's parents, Danny." She reminded him. "This isn't the time or place."

Danny nodded his head slowly in understanding as he moved to walk out of the locker room, and as Lindsay closed her eyes she heard the door open and shut.

Although he hadn't walked away in the same sense as last time, the fact he'd walked away again still hurt.

She counted to three in her mind before opening her tear filled eyes, to see Danny still standing there.

"I wanted to tell you before I went... All I need is time to get my head around this."

"Danny..."

"And I promise you," he interrupted her protests, "when we sit down and really talk about this, you'll see a different side to me."

Lindsay swallowed.

"And please, Linds... Please change your mind on what you expect from me..."

Lindsay blinked back her tears.

He took hold of her hand and gave it a reassuring squeeze. "Actions speak louder than words right?" he used her words from earlier.

She nodded.

"Just give me some time to get my head around this, and I'll show you how I'm here. I'll make my actions speak louder than my words, Linds."

She nodded tearfully. "Nicole's parents, Danny."

"I know, I know..." he nodded. "I just had'ta tell you that, k?"

She nodded.

"Give me some time," he said once more. "If you give me the chance, I won't walk away again... I need some time."

"I know." She nodded. "Just... we need to get back to work."

He nodded once more before turning and leaving the locker room for the third, and what Lindsay hoped to be the final time.

Even though she'd spend all day and night at work now pretending she was okay, and knowing the conversation she and Danny would inevitably have later would bring more tears, she felt calmer. She wasn't completely reassured – that was for sure, but a part of her – the part that still clung to what Danny meant to her despite everything, was telling her that things could actually be okay.

And that maybe, the things that hurt the most right now wouldn't even be an issue later.

Either way, only time would tell.

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**I don't know about anyone else, but I literally cannot accept Danny walking out of the locker room after Lindsay telling him she was pregnant. One in that I hate the thought of him walking out on Lindsay like that, and two – if he's what I think he is, he would have burning questions that would not wait – he'd go back into the locker room. So really, this is basically what I hope did happen, but highly doubt. **

**Either way, hope you guys enjoyed. :)**


	13. Confessions

**A/N: Howdy girls. Again, thank you all for the amazing feedback you have given me over the past few chapters it's nearly been 100 reviews in around four chapters, which is absolutely incredible. All the nice stuff you have to say really does mean a lot, so thank you all! **

**I have re-read, added things to, and then re-read this chapter more times than I could possibly count - and with me reading it so many times you know when you read something so much it loses sense? Well I'm there, so I figured I should really just post it up and let you guys be the judge. So I do apologise if at any point you're like... what is she high on? **

**Must mention nothatrose for reading my mind - I think you will know what I mean by the time you're a paragraph or so in... Great minds think alike. ;) **

**Special mention and thank you to:** messermonroeforever125, unlikelyRLshipper, Story Whore - le frick?, ncisabbylover, kdzl, Meredith and Derek, Sweet LIL loz, saderia, MoonlightDancerxxx, The-Kiwi-CSI, afrozenheart412, Wait To You See Me Smile, 18lzytwner, NothatRose, Dine89, ioanhoratio, jennifer32485, pretty7 and Hope06

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**This one is set after the episode 5x09 -The Box- finishes. **

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**Confessions; P****art 2 – Usher **

"_Now this goin' be the hardest thing I think I ever had to do; got me talkin' to myself askin' how I'm goin' tell you,"_

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The ride home from work was silent. They'd taken the subway together and while he held her close to him as they stood on the packed train, they'd not uttered a word to each other. They looked like a perfectly happy couple to any other commuter. They both knew that they were far from it. She was simply processing everything he hadn't said, and he was processing all what she had told him. All what he needed to tell her.

They'd walked back to her apartment in silence but arms and hands touching every so often.

He'd begged her to wait for him. He'd gone against everything Mac had ever taught him, and while he was stood waiting for Flack and Stella to retrieve the Harris' grandson from the gas station bathroom, Danny had gotten on the phone to Lindsay persuading her to stay at work. That he'd take her home. He needed to talk to her. She'd reluctantly, after much persuasion, said yes and had caught up with him as the Harris' met their grandson. Mac had instantly dismissed the team, telling them to take off work early in Danny's case, giving him that opportunity to talk to her.

Now though; Danny felt lightheaded as they finally reached her apartment building. He'd known all day what he needed to do; it just didn't make it any easier.

They climbed up the some five flights of stairs together and he waited as she let him into her apartment. She quickly switched the lights on and hung her coat on the hook before silently offering to take his.

His heart was racing. His hands were sweating. He knew that what he was about to say was going to be the hardest thing he ever did. He knew that the possibility of losing her was sky high and there was the potential for them to be over... for good. And as much as that killed him, he needed to tell her. He'd had enough of lying to her. She deserved to know... She needed to know.

He bit his lip as a last attempt to keep the words he could feel about to be released. The burning need to say everything that was building up inside him was overriding everything and anything he could do to keep them from reaching her ears.

"We need to talk," he said as his heart raced.

She nodded and headed to her couch, allowing him to follow her lead.

He sat next to her on the couch and perched himself on the edge; his elbows resting on his knees as he held his head in his hands. He took a few deep breaths before turning to face her.

"I have something I need to tell you."

She nodded. Her expression was blank. He couldn't read her. But he was positive she could read him.

He took a deep breath, desperate to get his heart to stop racing like it was.

He took a breath as he let his eyes shut for a second before licking his lips and turning to look Lindsay straight into the eyes. "I slept with Rikki."

Tears filled Lindsay's eyes. She swallowed and closed her eyes for a moment before letting out a deep breath. "I know."

Danny blinked. "You... You know?"

"You think I _didn't _know?" Lindsay asked, the tears in her eyes threatening to fall.

"You knew?" Danny asked in a small voice, "I mean I thought you would have known but... you knew?"

Danny I knew the whole time, and it broke my heart every time I thought about how you... What you..." she took a breath to calm herself. "What you did..."

"Lindsay, I'm so sorry."

Shrugging, Lindsay shuffled in her seat, "You know what, Danny... Sorry is beginning to mean very little to me."

Danny fought his own tears. He needed to explain. "It happened once and I..."

"Why today?" She interrupted.

"Why today...? What?"

"Why did you have to tell me this today? Could you not just have just carried on lying to me? What I didn't know couldn't hurt me, Danny. Why do you have to bring all of this up again?"

"Because..."

"Because what? Because you only think of yourself...?" Lindsay finished. "I see... Did you consider me for a second when you decided to do this? Did you consider how I felt when you walked away from me in the locker room with a shake of your head? Do you know how much that hurt? How it confirmed everything I had been thinking. Now you pull this?"

"I needed time to get my head around it."

A tear slipped down Lindsay's cheek.

"I came back though." He added.

"You walked away. You coming back will never take that hurt of you walking away in the first place."

"Lindsay," he sighed as he swiped away the tear that was cascading down her cheek. "You've had a hell of a lot longer to come to terms with this."

"Maybe," Lindsay nodded. "It still doesn't make this any easier Danny."

"It hasn't been loaded onto you though, Lindsay. I came to work today worryin' about you 'cause of how you were yesterday... I left worryin' about the rest of my life and how it was about to change."

"Yeah, and I have been worrying about that for the past few weeks." Lindsay sniffed. "I have to look after a baby Danny. This baby is relying on me; do you have any idea how long that has taken to get my mind round? What I eat and how I treat myself now affects my baby... He or she is relying on me to get them through these nine months. That is a massive thing on my shoulders to have your child rely on you to bring them into this world..."

"And you have to realise Lindsay that I have not only this baby relying on me, but I have you relying on me too. It's a hell of a lot of responsibility that was just loaded onto me."

"Loaded onto you?" Lindsay sat back, hurt displayed on her face. "Loaded onto you?"

"I didn't mean it like that... What I meant was..."

"I know exactly what you meant."

Danny took a deep breath, realising that the point of their conversation had gotten lost amongst everything else they needed to talk about. "Alright, let me start from the beginning here... Everything's just a little overwhelming and I thought that if I told you what I did, I could work my way through all of this. I feel bad when I think about how I treated you... I want to make it right, Lindsay."

"Hold on, let me get this straight, you think it's appropriate for you to tell me that you cheated on me and basically I was a pity fuck because you were feeling bad in how you have been treating me and want it off your conscience... on the day I tell you I'm pregnant with your baby..." She let out a breath from her string of thoughts. "That's great..."

"Lindsay!" Danny gasped. "What the... Lindsay, listen to me you were never..."

"Why today Danny?" Lindsay asked in a quiet voice. "Why ever?"

"You deserved to know."

"I deserved to know?" She implored. "What I deserved was one of two things; for you to either end it with me in order for you to pursue whatever it was you were doing with Rikki, so that you wouldn't be a _cheat_," she said the last word with venom he'd never heard from her before, "or alternatively" she continued, "and what I really deserved, was for you to not do it at all and you stayed loyal to me and came to _me_ when you needed someone to lean on. I deserve to know?" She said with a disbelieving chuckle. "Oh god, Danny... you have no idea, do you?"

"I didn't want you entering this part of your life with me hiding this from you." He began, "I want to be with you, Lindsay; and I want to have this baby with you, but..." he paused and closed his eyes. "I didn't want you not to know what I did. I thought that if you knew, it would be up to you whether or not you wanted me in your baby's life, and you'd be able to make a choice knowing everything."

"Danny, this is your baby too." Lindsay reminded him. "I just..." Her eyes became glassy as she took a moment to compose herself. "You know what I wish sometimes?"

"What?" Danny asked.

"I wish that I could go back to the day that Ruben died. Do you know what I would do? I'd go with you and I'd take the damn bullet myself. It would have hurt a lot less."

"Lindsay..."

"Do you think this has been easy for me Danny? Do you think I want a baby right now? I'm not as financially stable as what I'd like to be... The hours I work are ridiculous. My apartment is way too small. And the thing that hurts the most is that I'm on my own to raise this baby. All you did was fuck me, and now I'm left to pick up the pieces."

"Lindsay, you're not left to pick up the pieces." He said with a soft voice, "I'm here regardless of what you want to do. If you don't want to be with me in a relationship then I'll support you financially... Hell, we could even trade apartments so you'd have more room... it's closer to work."

"Oh wow, thanks Danny," Lindsay began sarcastically. "How unbelievably nice of you; offering your apartment that you cheated on me in as I raise the baby you had a hand in making... How unbelievably generous of you... You know, I think you offering me your tainted apartment is possibly the nicest thing you've ever done..."

"Lindsay..." He said with a sigh, "You know what I meant... I didn't mean for-..."

"Don't try and rationalise with me, Danny." She snapped as she sat forward on the couch. "Don't you even dare."

"Lindsay, I just..."

"You were there just as much as I was that night and I have a right to be mad with you for telling me all of this now. I have to raise my son or daughter; you can leave if you want... You don't have to deal with this. I do! And now on top of that, I have to deal with what you've just told me... again!"

"What do you want me to do?" Danny implored. "Lindsay, tell me what you want me to say and I'll say it."

"I don't want to tell you what to say Danny. I shouldn't have to. Hell, if you don't mean it then I don't even want to hear it."

_"_Tell you what; do you want to hear what's going on in my head right now?"

"Sure," Lindsay said as she sat back in her seat. "Why not? Let's do it for the thrill. It should be fun."

He knew that Lindsay's dry wit and sarcasm was surfacing to keep him out. She was using it on the off chance it hurt him so that he could feel a fraction of the hurt he'd put upon her.

He took a deep breath to suppress the butterflies that were rising inside him. "When I first met you, I never for one second thought that I would fall as hard and as fast as what I did for you. Instantly you were all I could think about, and since then it's like I've been obsessed with you. I sleep, eat and breathe you, Lindsay. When you're not here, I don't sleep. I lay there and think about you. I have never in my life felt my heart physically ache, but for those months when you pushed me away and went to Montana I felt something I'd never felt before."

Lindsay pursed her lips together.

"But that ache I felt is nothing compared to what it is that I feel now, knowing what I've done to you. Knowing that I've been the reason you've cried the amount of times that you have. The ache I have in my chest at there being a possibility of you walking out that door with a valid reason kills me. With you Lindsay, I thought that was it. It was going to be me and you, marriage, kids, grandkids; the whole shebang. And because I didn't think, I nearly threw away everything I ever had wanted. And because you have such a big heart you took me back; you gave me that second chance, and I've fucked that chance up twice in the same day. And right now, the anger and utter disbelief with myself that I did that is indescribable" he paused. "I know you think that it would have been better me not telling you about what I did, but I know for a fact that I wouldn't have be able to live with myself if we got married and raised this baby, knowing what I did to you. Was it selfish on my part? Yeah," he nodded. "It was. Was it the hardest thing I've ever had to do in my life?" he paused. "It was; and do I wish I could take back what I did every second of every day?" he slid from his place, perched on the edge of the couch and knelt in front of her, "Every second of everyday I wish that I could erase that moment from history," he confirmed what she hoped he'd say. "And all of that kills me because of how much I care about you."

Lindsay bit her lip and looked to the ceiling as a last attempt to keep her tears from falling. Danny wrapped his fingers around her neck and brought her head toward his as he pressed his forehead against her's. "And even though I didn't act how I should have today, I know that I will love our baby with everything I have, and if you were to give me one more chance, I will spend the rest of my life showing you how much you and our baby mean to me."

"I don't know if I can do that," she whispered.

Danny swallowed his tears, "Lindsay..."

"I've given you so many second chances that it's starting to hurt me. You completely destroyed my trust in you, Danny."

"We can build that back up." He was grasping for straws. "We can work on it... I can show you... I can... Linds..."

Lindsay closed her eyes and shook her head. "I can't afford to be an emotional wreck when I have a baby to look after, Danny."

"I can help you." He whispered. "We can do it together."

"Can we? We don't seem to be able to do much of anything together... except for make a baby."

"We have a reason to make us work, Lindsay. Someone has given us that second chance. I swear... I won't make the same mistakes again."

She glanced away from him; still unconvinced.

"Lindsay you know the person I have been recently isn't the real me. You know who I really am. I know you do."

"You changed so easily though, which makes me question who you actually are, Danny."

"You know in your heart the person that I am, and you know I'll do anything for you and our kid."

"Will you though?"

"You saw me with Ruben and he wasn't my boy. Imagine what I'll be like with our baby, Linds. Our baby... I'd worship the ground the kid crawled on..."

"I saw how you were destroyed when something happened to him though. Is it fair of me to put you through that with a child that's your own when I saw how it affected you and he wasn't even your kid?"

"Is it fair for you to not give me a chance to let me protect my child from those things?"

Lindsay let out a breath. "I don't want to argue with you."

"Give me a chance," he begged. "One more chance; I won't mess up this time, Lindsay. Let me show you the Dad I can be."

"Danny..."

"Let me try, Lindsay. That's all I'm asking. Let me try and make it up to you. Let me try and prove myself. Please baby... Please?"

Something snapped inside of Lindsay. The ways in which she had been holding back from him had suddenly melted away, and she let out a breath before leaning forward to where he knelt in front of her and she pressed her lips to his; her way of sealing the promises he'd just made to her.

His confessions had given her the reassurance she'd needed. He'd been vocal on how he felt, but he'd never shown her so much remorse and genuine regret in regards to what he had done to her. What he'd done to them.

It took him seconds to respond to the kiss and quickly he had his fingers tangled in her hair like he used to. The intensity of their kiss was growing with every moment, and as Danny made his way down to her neck to press, he paused. He pulled away for a moment and laid his forehead against her's.

"In fear of sounding like a moron, I'm going to warn you I'm about to sound like a moron,"

Lindsay blinked at him as she fought the smile on her lips. "Um, okay?"

"You're pregnant." he whispered, as he placed his hand on Lindsay's relatively flat stomach. "You're carrying our baby..."

She swallowed and nodded slowly.

"We're going to do this." He said, realisation finally sinking in. "You and me."

"Yeah," she nodded. "I guess we are."

He pressed a kiss to her lips.

"I'm scared," she whispered as tears glistened in her eyes as she pulled away from him. "I'm really scared."

"It's okay to be scared," he whispered. "I'm scared too."

"What if..."

"Whatever it is, we'll deal with it together," He interrupted. "I promise."

"But what if we're... we're... we're not the strongest of couples. What if something happens? Our baby won't... he or she will go back and forth between us and..."

"It won't happen," Danny whispered. "I care about you too much."

"But... you cheated on me." She whispered. "What if..."

Danny bit his lip and kissed her tears away. "I swear to you that I will never, ever do that again."

"But, I... I just... I just don't know whether we're capable of doing this."

"We are," He whispered. "We are. It's okay to be scared Lindsay, but we can do this. You know we can. I can see it in your eyes. You need to hear it, and deep down you already know it."

She fell silent.

"We can do this," he whispered again. "If we can get past this last year Lindsay; if we can move on from that together, we can do anything."

Lindsay let out a breath. "I just..."

"Everything will be okay." He assured her. "I'm here now, and I won't leave you again. I won't walk out. I'll be here through thick and thin."

Lindsay nodded.

"Let's start a new slate..." he said suddenly. "If you want to, we'll start fresh. No burdens. No past holding us back. It's just me, you and our baby."

Lindsay closed her eyes for a moment as his confession rang in her head. She felt the hurt rise through her. Then though, the hurt was pushed aside at the prospect of her and Danny providing a home for their baby. The idea of him keeping his promises and putting herself out there in trusting him sounded better than listening to what was safe. She knew what she wanted in spite of everything.

She nodded slowly. "I want a fresh start," she whispered. "You, me and the baby."

He closed his eyes and let out a breath. When he opened his eyes, they were filled with tears. "Thank you."

She smiled she swiped at a stray tear that slid down her cheek. "For the record, I'm not doing this because this is the easy way out." She began. "I'm doing it because despite everything I love you, and want that chance to be happy with you."

"And Linds, it..."

She held a finger to his lips. "And I want our daughter or son to have the Dad that I know you can be."

"I won't let you down." He vowed. "Either of you.

Lindsay let out a breath as she took Danny's hand and laid it on her stomach; she then laid her hand over his and laced her fingers together with his. "Don't promise me, Danny. Promise him or her. Promise the baby."

He pressed a kiss to her forehead before looking her in the eyes. "It'll be the first of many promises."

"Can I make you a promise?"

"Me?"

She nodded.

"I uh... I guess." He shrugged.

"I promise to leave everything behind us." She paused. "I promise not to use what you did against you, as long as you promise me that it won't happen again."

"I promise," he nodded instantly. "I don't even have to think about it," he added. "It won't ever happen again."

She smiled, but he could tell there was something holding her back. Her smile wasn't as bright as what it usually was.

"Nobody will think you're weak for giving us another go." He began. "They won't think you're a pushover, Lindsay."

She let out a chuckle. "I'm that obvious?"

"No," Danny said softly, while shaking his head. "I just know you."

She offered him a smile.

"If this is what you want, Lindsay... if us being a family is what you want, you shouldn't let anyone make you second guess that. So long as you're happy, you don't have to justify what you do to anyone."

"When did you get to know me so well?" Lindsay teased. "You know what I'm thinking by..."

"A look in your eyes? The way you smile? The way you let out a breath?" Danny finished with a smile. "It's the little things I love about you and despite the hard times, I've picked up on stuff."

"We've gone a little off track. I don't even remember what we were talking about to begin with. I remember being mad... but now..."

Danny hung his head.

"But now, all that of seems not to matter." Lindsay finished as she tucked her finger underneath Danny's chin and brought them to the same eye level.

He let out a breath he didn't know he was holding as he leant towards her and pressed a kiss to her lips.

Both had given the other quite the confession today and while neither of them dared to think it; deep down they knew that in some twisted way, bearing all had made them stronger. There were no lies or secrets between them. They knew everything and despite everything that they now knew – specifically Lindsay – they still wanted to be together. They still wanted to raise their baby together.

And in the grand scheme of things that had to be a pretty good foundation to build the rest of their lives on.

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**I hope it wasn't too... blah - which would be the only word I can come up with. I blame working on it for so long! **

**Thanks for reading, lovelies!! :)**


	14. At The Beginning With You

**A/N: Huge thank you to the wonderful responses to last chapter. I'm thrilled you all liked it; I know it covered a lot of stuff, but I think it went down well :)**

**Special thank you to: **Meggie, dl-shipper34, saderia, Nothatrose, miscme, uscrocks, iheartcsinewyork, messermonroeforever125, afrozenheart412, piper maru duchovny, Wait To You See Me Smile, Meredith and Derek , 18lzytwner, Dine89, hope06, ioanhoratio, unlikelyRLshipper & AnickaMarie **- all of your wonderful comments always make my day so thank you all very much!!**

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**This one is set after last chapter and is pre- The Triangle.**

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**At The Beginning with You – Richard Marx and ****Donna Lewis**

"_We were strangers, starting out on a journey. Never dreaming what we'd have to go through. Now here we are, and I'm suddenly standing, at the beginning with you.._. _No-one told me I was going to find you; unexpected what you did to my heart. I'll be there when the world stops turning. I'll be there when the storm is through. In the end I want to be standing at the beginning with you."_

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Danny stretched and yawned as he stood at the cooker observing the bacon and eggs that sizzled away in the pan over the flame. He'd woken early, knowing that Lindsay had to be in work before him, so he'd decided to tidy her place up, make breakfast, and all the other little thoughtful things that a boyfriend did.

In reality though, he couldn't sleep. His thoughts and dreams were currently being consumed by the thought of being a Dad, and how he was going to crack the skill of such a role. After the initial shock of Lindsay being pregnant had fizzled away, excitement had taken over and his mind had gone into overdrive. He found himself dreaming of making his little girl her lunch for school, and then he'd suddenly fall into another daydream of running his little boy to little league practice on a Sunday afternoon in the SUV. He pictured a two story house with the white picket fence and driveway. He pictured forever with Lindsay.

And all of this was coming from the man that had royally freaked out at the prospect of fatherhood.

After he and Lindsay had talked the night before and cleared their slate, she had laid her head on his shoulder as she snuggled into his side. She had looked him in the eyes and told him that she'd missed him. She'd missed the Danny that she had fallen in love with. And at that moment, he had wanted to tell her how he felt, but he had held back. He had told her a lot over the course of the night, and he didn't want the first time he told her how he really felt to be overlooked by everything he'd told her previously; nor did he want her to think he was just saying it because she had said it. He wanted her to know that when he said 'I love you' he meant it. And he meant it with all of his heart.

So instead, he had smiled at her and pressed a kiss to her forehead as he pulled her close.

After they had let everything out that they had held in their systems, it was like they were a different couple. Things that had pulled them down earlier in the day weren't even issues anymore. Their smiles were brighter. Things seemed to be easier.

She had quickly fallen asleep with the day's events taking its toll on her and Danny had taken the opportunity to sit and watch her sleep. She looked so peaceful, and it was something he hadn't done for a long time. Not that he made a habit of watching Lindsay sleep. He just needed to take the time to watch her sleep to give him the opportunity to let everything settle within him. He was going to be the father to Lindsay's baby. It was something that seemed so surreal to him, yet it was so real.

He gazed at Lindsay's stomach in awe at the baby that was probably growing right before his very eyes. Their baby.

As sleep began to take over, he had carefully stood from the couch and carried Lindsay to the bedroom, slipping her underneath her crisp covers. He had removed her work pants from her slender legs and managed to slip her blouse off of her without making her stir. He then stood in the doorframe for a moment or two, trying to weigh up the boundaries he had in place for himself. He wasn't sure whether she would want him in the same bed and whether it was fair of him to make that assumption that she would be okay with it.

His internal battle was interrupted when he heard her clear her throat and strain her eyes in the darkness of her bedroom, "Are you comin' to bed or are you just goin' to stand there like a stalker?"

He chuckled at her accent and began to undress as he made his way across the bedroom. His jeans fell to the floor as he slipped his shirt off, hanging it on the bottom of her bed. As he climbed into bed, she shuffled down to the bottom of the bed and grabbed his shirt, slipping it onto her shoulders and doing a few of the buttons up.

"Cold?" he had inquired as he pulled the sheet and duvet up the bed.

She had giggled in response as she settled back down into her pillow before curling into his side and falling asleep on his shoulder.

He flipped the bacon one last time and continued to stir the scrambled eggs as they cooked above the low heat. Although it had been an emotional night it was a night he wouldn't forget for a long time.

"Danny?"

He turned and flashed his girlfriend a smile as she stood across the living room in his shirt. "What are you doin' up, go back to bed."

"What's that smell?"

"I'm makin' breakfast," Danny beamed. "Bacon and eggs... Hope you're hungry!"

Lindsay complexion went a ghostly white and she cupped her mouth before darting down the hallway and slamming the bathroom door shut.

Danny raised his eyebrow as he moved the pans from the heat and turned the stove off as he went off to investigate Lindsay's strange behaviour. He quickly made his way through Lindsay's apartment and tapped lightly on the bathroom door.

"Babe?"

He could hear her shuffling within the bathroom.

"Lindsay, what the hell are you doing?"

That was when he heard the toilet lid being slammed up against the toilet, followed by Lindsay throwing up. He tried the handle but realised that she had locked it. He sighed before looking at the state of the door, at this moment in time, he knew Lindsay needed him and she wasn't about to stop herself expelling her stomach contents to let him in.

He took a deep breath and shoved the door with his shoulder, breaking the temperamental lock; letting him into the bathroom. He dropped to his knees and gathered Lindsay's hair as he rubbed her back as she continued to hover over the toilet.

And as Lindsay battled with morning sickness, Danny sat there with her, rubbing her back, holding her hair in a bunch, and periodically he would warn her before flushing the toilet.

After some time Lindsay let out a breath and reached for some toilet roll before leaning back on Danny. "I hate you right now."

"Just think of the baby and how..."

"Not that..." Lindsay interrupted him, "Bacon? We discussed bacon. I can't stomach bacon right now. Bacon and onions."

Danny smacked his forehead with the palm of his hand as one arm wrapped itself around Lindsay, holding her close. "Crap... I wondered why there was a niggling inside of me." He sighed. "I'm sorry, I just... I wanted to make you breakfast."

"I know, and that was sweet of... wait... how did you get in here?"

"I know, it was sweet of me," Danny smirked as Lindsay turned and knelt on his lap as she peered over him.

"You broke my effing door." She gasped.

Danny fought back his chuckle as he turned her and sat her on his lap. "You shouldn't have locked it."

"You... it's hanging off the damn hinges Danny. I swear to God, can't you be like a normal person and not break doors down?"

"I'll fix it."

"Like you said you were going to fix the tiling in my bathroom months upon months ago? That never materialised."

"Yes, exactly like that," he smirked before rubbing her back, "How are you feeling?" he inquired, desperate to change the subject.

"Are you serious? I feel like a pretty ray of sunshine," she deadpanned. "I just threw up, how do you think I feel?"

"Like a little ray of sunshine?" he teased as he dodged her flying hand. "I didn't realise morning sickness hit so soon."

"Well, now you do." Lindsay grimaced as she snuggled into him some more. "I wish you could throw up for me."

"If I could be a seahorse for you and go through all of this, I would."

"Aw, you're so sweet." Lindsay smirked before swallowing. "Danny..."

"What?"

"Danny...."

"What?" He asked as he craned his neck so that he could see her. "What's the matter?"

"The door," she said as she continually took deep breaths. "Danny... the door."

"What the hell are you talking about? What about the door?"

"Shut the door!" she cried as she lunged forwards.

"Lindsay?!" He asked as he gathered her hair as a new wave of nausea hit her.

Then it hit him... The overwhelming smell of bacon filtering in from the kitchen had reached the bathroom.

"Linds..." he sighed as he shoved the broken door shut and rubbed her back. "I'm sorry baby."

"Get rid of it," she spluttered, "Go!"

He hesitated for a moment before standing up. He sighed as he headed into the living room after making sure the bathroom door was as shut as well as it could be.

He made his way into her kitchen and grabbed the bacon from the stove and turned on the garbage disposal and ran the water.

He glanced down at his watch and sighed. Lindsay needed to be at work in just over an hour but she wouldn't be if she had to keep throwing up.

He opened the kitchen window and made his way to her front door and opened it a little in hopes that the smell of bacon would disappear by the time she surfaced from the bathroom.

"I'm gonna take a shower," she hollered as he heard the toilet flush. "Don't try anything fancy with your culinary skills, k?"

"How does the baby feel about toast?" he called back to her.

"The baby says it's a possibility. The baby wants it dry though."

"What does the baby want to drink with it?"

"The baby wants apple juice," Lindsay giggled. "So does Mommy... Thanks Daddy!"

He chuckled to himself as he made his way through the apartment as he made a detour and headed into the bedroom. He gathered up the clothes Lindsay had laid out for herself before turning back on himself and heading towards the bathroom. He knocked gently before heading in and placing her clothes on the counter top.

"Whoa!" she giggled from inside the shower. "Get out of here. What do you think it is? A peep-show?"

"I was bein' nice."

"What you do?" she inquired as she poked her head around the shower curtain. "Bring me some bacon?"

He shook his head at her; his grin stretching across his face. "Watch it, wiseguy."

She stuck her tongue out before disappearing behind the shower curtain again.

He let out a sigh as he turned to leave the room and let Lindsay get on with getting ready despite him wanting to wind her up some more.

As he was about to shut the door, he heard her voice. "Hey Danny?"

"Yeah?"

She poked her head around the shower curtain again and smiled at him. "I'm glad we're starting at the beginning again. "

He smiled at her and nodded.

"And... I love you."

As she disappeared behind the shower curtain, he took that as his cue to let her to get ready for work in peace.

Padding into the kitchen, he let out a breath.

He never dreamt that he'd find someone like Lindsay. He never even thought that his dreams that he didn't know he had, would come true with Lindsay. He didn't think for one second about what he and Lindsay would have to endure to be together. All what they'd go through to make them stronger.

Lindsay was there when his world stopped turning. Lindsay was there when the storm was through. And in this new chapter in his life, as long as Lindsay was by his side, he knew things would be okay.

So long as they started at the beginning. Together.

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**Thanks for reading all; your reviews and thoughts are much appreciated. :)**


	15. Love Story

**A/N: Hi all, sorry it's been some time since the last update. Usual excuses of life, work and all that jazz. :) **

**Huge thank you to all of you that have been wonderful with this story. All your amazing feedback is the most fabulous pick me ups ever. Special mention to: DantanaMM, piper maru duchovny, Sweet LIL loz, The-Kiwi CSI, messermonroeforever125, saderia, miscme, unlikelyRLshipper, Meredith and Derek, afrozenheart412, 18lzytwner, jennifer32485, Dine89, AnickaMarie, iheartcsinewyork, rhymenocerous, dl-shipper34 and last, but definitely not least, NothatRose **

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**This one is set during The Triangle**

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**Love Story – Taylor Swift**

'_He knelt to the ground, pulled out a ring and said; 'Marry me Juliet, you never have to be alone... I love you and that's all I really know, I talked to your Dad, go pick out a white dress; it's a love story... Baby just say yes'.'_

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Danny took a deep breath as he picked up the receiver. He took out the crumbled piece of paper and read the number; his fingers quickly dialling.

Finally leaning back on his seat, he took a deep breath.

_Say Hi. Hi's friendly. Hi's... Hi means Hi... _

He blinked. He was going crazy.

He blinked again. He couldn't do this if he was going crazy.

_Hang up,_ his mind screamed. _Hang up, hang up, hang up. Danny hang up now. Right now. _

"Hello?"

_Fuck. _"Hi." He muttered into the receiver.

"Hello?" the voice repeated.

"Mr Messer, it's Monroe."

"Lindsay?" A male voice exclaimed. "Your voice has changed and you've called the wrong house sweetie... It's your Dad. I think you meant to call Danny. And I know you're living in New York now, but you ought to go to a specialist about your voice..."

Danny blinked. "Wait... I'm Messer. You're Monroe."

"Well gee Danny," Lindsay father's chuckled down the line. "Thanks for clearing that up for me because for the fifty-eight years I've been Monroe I've never been that sure."

Danny took a deep breath. This conversation he had planned wasn't working out too well for him.

"Can I hang up and start again?"

Lindsay's father laughed. "Sure, I'll wait by the phone."

Slamming the receiver down, Danny crossed his arms on his desk and instantly buried his head. Lindsay's Dad was probably on the phone to his daughter inquiring what her crazy boyfriend was taking... screw waiting by the phone for said crazy boyfriend to call back.

He took a deep breath as he picked up the receiver; no more prepared than he was before, but hoping that he'd be able to function like a normal person on the phone regardless.

He pressed re-dial and held the phone to his ear.

"_Monroe_ residence."

Danny fought the nervous chuckle. "Hello sir, it's Danny."

"Danny? Oh how wonderful, it's been such a time since we last talked."

Danny let out a breath as he relaxed in his chair. "Yes sir, yes it has."

"I take it you've stopped treating my baby girl like a toy you've grown tired of then."

Danny cleared his throat. "About that..."

"All I need to know is that things between you are better."

"Well, that I can assure you of." Danny said honestly. "I care about her a lot. I realise how stupid I was... you know, with how I was and what I did."

"Better late than never," Lindsay's father mused. "So is this a social call?"

"Well..." Danny took a deep breath. "You see... the thing is... I... We..."

"Spit it out..."

"See sir... we..." Danny's heart was racing. He knew that he was in New York, and Lindsay's father and Lindsay's father's shot guns were all the way in Montana... but he was still left with an unsettling feeling. "I... Lindsay's... Lindsay's..."

"The way you're carrying on anyone would think you'd got her pregnant."

Silence rang in Danny's ears as he desperately searched for something to say.

"Hello?"

Danny swallowed. "I... See... We... Lindsay's... _fuck."_

"What date is it?"

"Date?" Danny spluttered, looking at his desk calendar. "The thirteenth of-"

"So it's not April first?" Jack implored.

"No sir."

"And I'm right in thinking Lindsay's pregnant? Or have you just developed a stutter?"

Danny took a deep breath. "Lindsay's pregnant."

"And you're the father of course."

"Yes sir," Danny spluttered instantly.

"So what?" The tone of voice Jack was using was leaving Danny with a feeling of dread rising inside him. "Would you like a 'congratulations' for knocking my daughter up? If that's the case, I think you're out of luck, sparky."

"No sir, it's not that... I... I want to make sure she's got me there to support her and..." he took a deep breath. "I've cared about Lindsay for a hell of a long time, and although we've had it tough recently, I love her and I want to raise our baby as a family."

"You love her?"

"Yeah... I do."

"You just said you loved her."

"I did." Danny swallowed. "That's right."

"But she's told me that you've never said that to her before."

"Well, I haven't." Danny admitted. "But I do... And I wanted to know whether... Whether it would..."

Danny was hoping and praying Jack Monroe would help him out and give him the words he was searching for.

"You want to marry her?"

Danny nodded.

"Son?"

He shook his head, realising that he was on the phone. "Yes sir, yes I do."

"And you're asking my permission?"

"Yes sir... Of course I understand that this conversation should have been in person, but I think she'd notice me disappearing for the weekend."

Jack fell silent; leaving the only noise between the two men was Danny breathing.

"Does she love you?"

"I hope she does."

"Do you love her?"

"With all my heart."

"And are you planning on breaking her heart again?"

"Never."

"And she's really pregnant?"

"Eight weeks." Danny beamed. "Nine weeks next week."

"I can count, thank you." Jack chuckled and then let out a sigh. "You remember those shot guns I showed you that time you were here for the trial?"

"I see them in my nightmares, sir."

"Okay, well the next time you're thinking of putting your little toe out of line, remember that big one I let you watch me clean, k?"

"Absolutely." Danny swallowed, hanging onto the hope that the sentence he was praying for was about to come.

"Does she have any idea about this phone call?"

"None whatsoever."

"You break her heart and I'll break your face, okay?"

"I hope you do." Danny agreed seriously. "I'm not going to mess this up with your daughter again, sir."

"So my baby girl's pregnant?"

"Yes sir." Danny smiled.

"And you're both happy?"

"Yes sir."

Jack let out a long laboured breath. "You better look after her."

Danny's heart raced increased as butterflies filled his stomach. "I swear."

"And you better start putting her first, okay?"

"Done."

"I suppose you've got guts kid, calling... How did you get the landline number?"

"I... I um, I borrowed her cell last night after she fell asleep and noted it down on a scrap piece of paper."

"Well, if I was to say no, I think she'd probably fly home and kick my ass, so I don't have much choice in the matter." Jack paused. "But before, can I tell you something?"

"Anything."

"She loves you a hell of a lot." Jack began. "She doesn't put up with the crap you've thrown at her; you must be pretty special for her to do all what she did for you. You know that right?"

"Yes sir."

"And I don't want her to call her Mother in tears again, asking her how you mend a broken heart, alright? I don't know what you did to her kid, but you broke my girl in two, and it takes a hell of a lot to do that."

"I know, and I'm not proud of what I did and what happened."

"I should think not," Jack scoffed. "But... that aside. You flew across the country for her, and I know that you make her happy. I mean, I've never seen her smile so bright before."

"She has the most beautiful smile." Danny commented. "And her eyes twinkle when she smiles."

"So you notice the little things about her?"

"Absolutely... Like the way she scrunches her nose just as she's about to wake up in the morning... And how she'll reach for her coffee cup recently run her fingers over it, put it back in the cupboard and reach for a glass and fill it with water. Or, like yesterday..." he paused to laugh. "yesterday right; she was at work earlier than me and when I walked into the office, she'd left me a little trail of arrow post it notes to my seat, and left me a packet of my favourite candy sitting there just because. Oh and then yesterday afternoon she...-"

"Danny!!" Jack laughed, interrupting Danny. "You have my permission."

"What?" Danny swallowed. "Seriously?"

"Yeah..." Jack chuckled. "Anybody who can gush about my daughter touching a coffee mug like you just did is obviously in love with her... Just you know, let her know that, k? Because I think she's feeling a little... well, as much as she would hate to think it, even Lindsay sometimes gets a little insecure with things."

"Sir, thank you. I promise I won't let you down."

"Hey, it's not me you've got to promise that. Promise Lindsay and my grandchild."

"I will..." Danny glanced up with a beaming smile on his face; his eyes catching Lindsay as she dashed for the exit. "I um... I... Jack..."

"I'll pretend not to know a thing until she tells me, alright?"

"Thank you." Danny let out a sigh. "I uh... I..."

"Go ask her to marry you," Jack chuckled.

"Yes sir."

"Oh and Danny?"

"Yes sir?"

"Lindsay was shittin' with you when she told you to call me sir."

Danny let out a chuckle and shook his head. "I knew it."

"Go make my little girl happy okay?"

"Yes sir... Jack... Thank you."

Danny slammed the receiver down on the cradle and took a deep breath before pushing back from his desk and grabbing the little box that had been sat next to him throughout his entire conversation with Jack.

The Q hadn't really turned into an express.

After Lindsay had left his apartment for work, Danny had waited a few minutes before embarking on his 'journey' as such. The subway screwing him over had been his cover-up.

Instead, Danny had used the three hours in the time Lindsay had left him and walked around the wide array of jewellery stores that he'd had recommended to him by his father upon the news of Lindsay being pregnant.

And he was honest to God convinced that he had looked at and held every ring in New York City.

Lindsay's ring though; instantly he had known there was something special about it. He'd had it to his wits end with being offered rings that were too big in regards to the jewels on the engagement ring, or they were downright ugly... or they just hadn't been Lindsay. He'd sighed and leant against the glass cabinet as the pompous sales assistant went off to bitch about him not buying one of the fifty rings he'd previously looked at and saw it.

As his eyes absorbed the sight of the ring, he could see Lindsay wearing the ring for the rest of her life.

The ring he was looking at was made for him to give to Lindsay.

Period.

He'd ignored the disbelieving eyebrow raises from the assistant as he pointed to the ring, demanding he placed it in the box so he could get going to work. He didn't even care that he needed to put it on two credit cards.

It was the ring he wanted for Lindsay.

Letting out a breath as he darted off the elevator, Danny quickly dashed out of the crime lab in search of his girlfriend; chuckling when he saw her stood at the donut stand. He smiled to himself for a moment as she offered her money over and stirred her tea.

He had no idea what he was going to say to her. None whatsoever. But what he did know was that he loved her. And he loved their baby.

And going off the conversation he'd just had with her father, he couldn't be held responsible for their imminent conversation.

"I thought I saw you runnin' for the exit!" he called to her with a smile on his face.

"I'm starving... My OB said I should pay attention to my cravings no matter how inconvenient they are."

The rising butterflies in his stomach indicated to him that this was it.

He took a deep breath. "Let me ask you somethin'?"

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**No I'm not currently high and forgotten to finish the chapter lol; I'm splitting this chapter into two parts (partly because I have a fab song for part 2) but I also thought it'd be interesting to show Danny's lead up, and then Lindsay dealing with his proposal (and her reasoning behind why she said no other than what the show gave us in the awesomesauce scene). **

**So yeah. Tune in for next chapter where I'll pick up where I left off... please! lol **

**Thanks for reading**


	16. I Got You

**A/N: Hey guys. Sorry that I've been so bad on correspondence recently. Lots of things have been going on with this, that and the other. With two weeks off for Easter now I'm hoping to be able to catch up on stories I've missed and PM's I need to reply to. **

******As promised, here's part two, and a continuation of last chapter, complete with Lindsay's POV. It was a tough one to write, and was deleted about four times - this one being nothing to what I originally had thought, but I feel it works better than any of the other ideas I had.**

**Once again - thank you all so much for the amazing feedback you always give me. I hope you all know how much I really do appreciate the time you take to review. **

**Special mention and thank you to: iheartcsinewyork, Sweet LIL loz, dantana-balscofanxoxo, piper maru duchovny Lindsay1234, messermonroeforever125, Saderia, ., AnickaMarie, unlikelyRLshipper, rhymenocerous, MoonlightDancerxxx, NothatRose, webdlfan, afrozenheart412, ****montanascreed, Wait To You See Me Smile, Dine89, jennifer32485, DantanaMM, 18lzytwner & pretty7**

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******This one is set after the episode, The Triangle, finishes. **

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**I Got You, Leona Lewis**

"_And when you need a place to run to__; f__or better, for worse, I got you."_

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She was being stupid. She knew she was. She just couldn't help it.

She felt like she was avoiding him like it was their Rikkigate scandal all over again. He'd asked her to marry him, and she'd explained her reasoning in saying no; which he'd accepted. They'd even told Mac that they were having a baby.

So why, she wondered, were things still feeling awkward between them?

She snuggled further into her pillow, trying to figure out how close Danny was lying. Or more specifically, how far away he was.

She loved him, and more importantly he loved her. There was a part of her that felt like she no longer had to hold back. He hadn't taken an opportunity given to him. He hadn't said it because he had to. He said it because he wanted to. Granted it had taken her by surprise. But he'd said it. And he'd meant it. And even though she felt like she was floating as she basked in the feeling of him actually telling her he loved her, there was distance between them. And, if Lindsay had learnt anything in the past four years, when she felt distance, she needed to do anything to eliminate that distance between them before it escalated into something more.

She let out a breath and turned so that she was facing him.

In the small light of the bedroom, she could see him peel one eye open before closing it again. "Can I help you?" he chuckled.

"Why did you ask me to marry you?" It came out randomly, and not how she wanted it to sound at all.

Danny opened his eyes and blinked. "What?"

"Why did you ask me to marry you?" She repeated. "Was it a spur of the moment thing, or had you thought about it? Are you doing it just because I'm pregnant?"

He shuffled closer to her and pulled her body towards him. He shifted so that he was now laid on his back and he guided her head so that she was resting on his bare chest. "You want me to tell you honestly?"

She nodded.

"I have thought asking you to marry me you every day for the past two weeks."

"Everyday?"

He nodded.

"But... why?"

"Why? Because I love you and I want us to be a family."

Despite herself, she smiled.

"Linds?" he pressed after not hearing a response.

"Sorry, hearing you tell me you love me isn't wearing off as quickly as I thought it would."

He chuckled and wrapped his arms tighter around her. "Well, it's a good job, because I'm gonna be here tellin' you how much I love you for a while."

"I hope so."

"I do want to marry you," he began as he tucked a finger underneath her chin, guiding her so he was looking into her eyes. "But I get that you want to take baby steps, k?"

She let out a breath. "I just... I want to make sure that we're going to do it for the right reasons, you know? I don't want to think three years down the line that we made a mistake rushing into things more than what we already have."

"I know, and I get that, Linds... I know that everything has happened quickly, and you're still a little unsure of everything. You just have to remember that I love you, and I'm not going anywhere, k?"

"I know that," she smiled. "I just... I don't want you to feel trapped, Danny."

"I'd never feel trapped with you, Lindsay." He whispered as he pressed a kiss to the tip of her nose. "If there was anyone in the world I wanted to be trapped with, it'd be you."

"I don't mean like that... I mean, we see it all the time. Couples where one of them have been trapped and it ended in a domestic with one of them going too far, and ending up with nothing. I don't want that for us."

"Lindsay, I wouldn't be able to harm a hair on your head, and you know that."

"I'm pretty sure the domestics we've worked thought that too, Danny."

Danny let out a sigh. "Linds, we can take it at your pace, okay? You know where I stand on things. I want to marry you; I want to be a family. And whether you decide you want that tomorrow or in two years, I'll be there."

"I want to marry you too," Lindsay whispered. "I just feel like right now...-"

"Isn't the right time." Danny finished. "I hear you on that." He added. "Just remember that I'm here... Whenever you need me, I'm there."

"I know."

"And when you need someone to hold you when things seem too much, I'm here and I've got you, k? Or you know... when the baby's crying, or when you've had no sleep, I'm gonna be there helping out. Whatever you need."

"I know you will."

"I want to by the guy you want to rely on, Linds. I want to be the one you run to no matter what. I want you to know that for better, for worse, I've got you."

"You are that guy, Danny... I just, I want to take our time with this. It's a huge step for us."

"I know, and that's why I'm not rushing you into anything. We'll take it all at your pace, baby steps... So long as we're moving forwards and I'm with you, that's all that matters to me."

"And I love you for that," Lindsay began. "And I do want to marry you... You know that, right?"

"I know." He nodded as he pressed a kiss to her temple.

"I just... I want to be financially stable. I want to... I want to make sure..."

"You want to make sure everything's in place and we're in the right place to enter a marriage together?"

"Exactly." Lindsay whispered. "I don't want to ruin what we have by rushing something that should be special."

"If it doesn't feel right baby, then fine. Give me some hints when the time _is_ right and I'll try my proposal again. I'll make it better... I'll make it so you can't say no." He teased her as he pressed a kiss to her temple.

She giggled as she trailed her fingers across his chest. "I just... I want to tell my parents I'm pregnant before I tell them I'm married. I know it sounds stupid, but you know... One step at a time, right?"

"Whatever you want is fine with me. Like I said, your pace. We can tell your parents when you're ready okay? Our baby isn't going anywhere. You have like seven months to tell them."

She let out a breath. "I know we can't control what happens, and I know everything that does happen, happens for a reason. I just... I want to be able to control this last little bit of my life before everything changes. I need to make sure we're both in the place we need to be, you know?"

"Lindsay." He whispered as he closed his hand over her's. "I know, okay? I know, and that's fine with me. So long as I'm the one you want to marry, I don't mind when we get married. Whether it's tomorrow, or ten years from now. I'm not going anywhere, and I don't want you to worry about it, okay?"

She nodded and curled her fingers around his. "Okay."

"Go to sleep babe," Danny whispered as he trailed his fingers down her arm. "We've got work early tomorrow."

She let out a breath and let her eyes flutter shut.

He was her place to crash when things got tough. He was the person at the end of the phone line at four-am because she was scared or upset. He was the person that could make her cry like no other. He was also the person that would wipe every tear she shed. He was the person she ran to when her world was falling to pieces. He was the one that had seen her fall apart. He'd been the person that had picked up the pieces when her world had shattered around her. He was the one that reached for her when she was all alone. He was the one that protected her; that made her feel safe. He was the one that made her feel like she was home, no matter where she was in the world.

And one day, he'd be the guy she married.

They'd just have to take baby steps to get to that day.

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**Thanks for reading, guys! :)**


	17. Two is Better Than One

**A/N: Howdy from Laura's hometown - thank gosh for the Easter Holidays! Hopefully, like I said with last update, I will be able to reconnect with the fanfic population over the next few days what with me being a recluse recently. This update is upon the gentle nudging from Nothatrose! hehe. So, as promised, here we go. Short, but sweet. Enjoy!**

**Thank you to everyone still reading this story - I have loads of chapters already written/planned etc, so stick around guys! :) **

**Special mention to: ioanhoratio, saderia, piper maru duchovny, NothatRose, AnickaMarie, uscrocks, Wait To You See Me Smile, afrozenheart412, rapidtetv, DantanaMM, unlikelyRLshipper, 18lzytwner, jennifer32485, messermonroeforever125, pretty7 & dl-shipper34 - you're all successful in making my day brighter! :) **

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**This one is set a few days after the Triangle **

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**Two Is Better Than One; Boys Like Girls, ft. Taylor Swift. **

"_I remember what you wore on our first date, you came into my life and I thought 'hey, now this could be something'. Because everything you do and words you say, you know it all takes my breath away."_

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"You know, it does nothing for my self confidence with you staring at my stomach, Danny."

"I just... you have a baby in there." Danny said in wonder as they headed down the sidewalk hand in hand. "Our baby... My baby... and, you're just... you're so tiny. And a baby is growing right there," he said as he placed a hand to her stomach. "Like in there..."

Lindsay let out a disbelieving chuckle as her eyes searched him to try and figure out whether he was aware of what he was saying. That or whether he was high on something... "Make me a little more nervous why don't you? Don't you think I know how tiny I am, and how big I'm going to get."

"And how beautiful you are no matter what..." He added with a kiss to her temple.

"Some days that's debatable," Lindsay smiled.

"It's just taking time to sink in I guess," he continued, ignoring her previous comment. "And the fact that we're going to do this... me and you... we're going to have a baby."

Lindsay smiled nervously.

"Do you want a boy or girl?" he whispered in awe. "I know you said healthy, but you must have a pull to a boy or girl."

Lindsay blushed. "I do... But healthy is my first and foremost..."

"I get it," Danny smiled as he squeezed his girlfriend's hand. "But you know... boy or girl. Soccer practice or ballet recitals? Paintballing birthday parties or Sleepovers and the movies?"

"You do know my little girl could do soccer practice and paintballing if she wants to, right?"

Danny nodded. "Of course... Does that mean you want a baby girl?"

"It also goes to say that our little boy could do ballet if that's what he wanted."

"And that would be behind Daddy's back." Danny said with a raised eyebrow. "My kid would be on the field playin' baseball, Linds. Maybe football at a push."

"So it's safe to say you want a boy?" Lindsay inquired.

"It'd be nice," he nodded. "A little boy... But then again, I'd love a baby girl the carbon copy of her mommy."

Lindsay smiled and tucked herself into Danny's side. "Really?"

"Of course," Danny smiled. "Your brown eyes, your hair... Your smile. She'd have me as putty in her hands."

Lindsay beamed at her boyfriend.

"I know I didn't react very well to you telling me you were pregnant, Linds... But I'm excited about this... About having our baby. You know that right?"

Lindsay smiled and nodded. "Yeah, I know that."

"Good." He nodded as he slowed their pace to which they had been walking considerably. "C'mon... In we go."

"Here?" Lindsay asked looking up at the sign, highly amused. "Really?"

Danny nodded as he ushered her inside.

"Original," she smirked over her shoulder as Danny took her coat. "It would be at least if I hadn't done it before."

"Hush," Danny smirked as he led her to their table. "It's sentimental and me trying to make an effort."

"It has been noted," she smiled. "You do know it's not Wednesday though; Mac's not playing tonight."

He shrugged. "I didn't come here to have Mac gawp at us."

"Gawp?" Lindsay giggled. "Very... descriptive. In fact, I may use that in my next witness report, "Victim was seen gawping at witness A ten minutes prior to time of death..."

"You do that, baby. Let me know how it works for you, k?" Danny smirked, his voice dripping with sarcasm. "I wanted to come and talk to you."

"So you pick Cozy's?" Lindsay giggled. "Where you're supposed to come and _listen_ to music... Wow, you really put that brain to good use, Danny."

"We had our first date here, thank you very much." Danny huffed as he pulled his stool closer to Lindsay's. "Wiseass."

"I hardly call it a date, Danny... I'd asked you here to prove you wrong. And I won... epically."

"You may have... But it was also the night that I realised that you and I could really be something pretty special... It looks like I was right."

She smiled and settled into his side as he draped his arm across her shoulders. "I guess you were."

"I remember what you were wearing," he continued.

"Oh please." She laughed in disbelief. "You do not."

Danny raised his eyebrow. "How do you feel about betting on that?"

"No way." she giggled, "And I do not for one second believe that you remember what I wore."

Danny licked his lips. "Grey slacks, that cute little green cardigan; buttoned up just enough to see the white cami underneath... Want me to go on?"

"No, I think you're good," she laughed as the bartender approached the table. "We'll have a beer and a glass of win-..." She paused. "An orange juice. Please." She ordered.

As the bartender nodded and headed off to fill their drink order, Danny pressed a kiss to Lindsay's temple.

"First of many changes," she commented. "No more alcohol."

Danny nodded. "Less time in the field."

"Lots of time throwing up."

"Ew," Danny shuddered. "Don't remind me."

"Hey, it's not you going through it, remember?"

"I know... I know..."He grimaced. "I guess in that case; lots of time to practice tying your hair up and rubbing your back."

Lindsay smiled as warmth spread through her; she leaned towards him and pressed a kiss to his cheek. "I love you." She then settled back into the frame of his body, just in time to feel him exhale. A part of her warmth dropped as dread filled her. "Was that an 'I love you too' exhale, or was that an 'oh god, she's emotional already and I wish I didn't have to deal with this sappiness' exhale."

Danny laughed as the bartender set their drinks on the table. "As much as I would love it to be a 'oh god, she's emotional already' exhale, because it's pretty hilarious, it was more of an 'I can't believe how much I love her; I'm never going to let her and our baby down like I have done recently and I am the luckiest guy in this world right now' exhale."

"You know," Lindsay began, fighting the smile on her lips. "I think I like that one the most."

"I thought you might have." He smiled as he took a sip of his beer. "How's that orange juice working out for you?"

"So good so far," Lindsay shrugged. "I'll let you know when I throw it up later."

"That's real nice." Danny cringed as he placed his bottle on the table. "Thanks for that, babe."

For a moment, they listened to the soft jazz music that filled the relatively empty club, taking them back for a moment to their younger years. When they were oblivious to everything that faced them; when they were oblivious of all the things they had to look forward to.

"You know, I've been thinking... if your morning sickness hits you in the morning..."

"And afternoon..." Lindsay added.

"If your sickness hits you throughout different times of the day, maybe it's worth thinking about me and you..." he took a deep breath. "I don't want you to be on your own through this, Lindsay... I want to be there to help you with everything. I know you said you didn't want to get married right now, but I... I guess this could be our first baby step?"

"What are you saying then?" Lindsay asked, butterflies rising in her stomach.

"I'm not saying we need to do it tomorrow... And we're practically doing it anyway, but maybe we should think about moving in together? What is it they say? Two is usually better than one."

"I think that sounds like a good idea," Lindsay smiled. "I think I'd quite like having you around, because if I'm honest, I'm not keen on the idea of you missing out on things."

"So, plan?" Danny asked. "We'll think about it?"

Lindsay nodded as she settled against her boyfriend.

Two, in her mind was definitely better than one.

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**Thanks for reading all - hope you enjoyed! :) **


	18. Crazier

**A/N: Hey folks, Happy Easter!! ****This chapter is actually Easter themed, but unfortunately it doesn't fit that well into our time frame that we were given on the show, considering this year Easter falls in April, and Lindsay had Lucy in May... so I guess what I am asking is for you guys to suspend your disbelief and forget about dates and stuff.**

**This particular chapter is dedicated to iheartcsinewyork, who requested this Taylor Swift song. I know there are others of you that have requested songs and I haven't forgotten, I'm just waiting for the idea to hit me.**

**Special thank you to: piper maru duchovny, saderia, AnickaMarie, NothatRose, prplerayne, ncisabbylover, afrozenheart412, Wait To You See Me Smile, dl-shipper34, jennifer32485, messermonroeforever125, Meredith and Derek, pretty7, 18lzytwner and Lindsay1234**

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**This one is set around Easter time  
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**Crazier – Taylor Swift **

_I was tryin' to fly but I couldn't find wings, but you came along and changed everything_

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Smiling proudly, Danny leant across the bed towards Lindsay's sleeping form and gently prodded her nose. As usual, her button nose scrunched and twitched as his fingertip prodded her nose again, and her hand went to rub her nose. Chuckling Danny prodded her nose one more time, to which Lindsay finally peeled one eye open.

"Yes?"

"Merry Easter."

She closed her eyes and shuffled slightly before peeling both eyes open and staring pointedly at her boyfriend. "Merry Easter? Really?"

"The Easter Bunny came last night. He left us with a treasure hunt."

"Are you practising for the baby?" Lindsay giggled as she snuggled further into her pillow. "Cause it's really cute and everything, but I'm tired." She trailed off as she pulled the covers to her chin.

"No, he did. Honestly." He insisted as he pulled the covers away from Lindsay and flung them down to the bottom of the bed. "Up. Now."

Shivering, Lindsay reached for her sweater that lay at the bottom of the bed. Pulling it over her head, she pulled the hood up so that she was buried in the oversized jumper that she'd stolen from Danny years ago.

"Enthusiasm is appreciated." Danny smirked as he offered Lindsay a hand and pulled her across the bed. "Here." He smiled as he handed her a crumpled piece of paper. "I burnt it at work."

Lindsay blinked as she trailed her eyes down to the aged piece of paper in her hand. "Danny is this... a treasure map?"

"Yup!" He smiled brightly. "The crosses mark where your presents are hidden."

Lindsay blinked again. "You're serious?"

"Deadly," he smiled excitedly. "Montana, come on!"

She pulled herself from the bed dramatically and let out a sigh as her eyes caught sight of the time on the alarm clock. "Danny, six thirty? Are you high?"

"You're at work in three hours, come on, Linds!"

"I'm tired, Danny." She wasn't far from actually crying.

"It'll take five minutes, and then you can go back to bed, okay?"

Taking the hand he was offering her, Lindsay curled her fingers around his as he led her from her bedroom.

Now, when Lindsay had gone to bed, her apartment was a little messy, but... she blinked and turned to Danny. "It looks like a freakin' Easter Wonderland, Danny."

"I know, I know." He laughed, "But I wanted to go all out."

"I didn't think we celebrated Easter as such..." she said tentatively. "I mean the last time I checked we weren't particularly religious."

"I just thought it would be nice."

"Oh no, no it is." She smiled brightly at him. "It's just... when did you do all of this?"

"From eleven until two this morning."

Lindsay blinked. "And you're up at six?"

"Yeah, so how about you start on that treasure hunt, eh?"

She smiled at him before shaking her head and casted her eyes down to the piece of paper. "It looks like the couch?"

"Well, you best get looking." Danny smiled as he leant against the doorframe, leading to Lindsay's bedroom.

Shaking her head, Lindsay passed Danny the map before padding over to the couch and examining the seats. "I don't see anything."

"Maybe the Easter bunny left your present underneath the cushions."

"Maybe the Easter bunny is taking something." Lindsay smirked at her boyfriend before lifting one of the cushions and finding a wrapped gift. She picked it up and turned it over in her hand. "I thought I was searching for peanut butter cups in a colourful plastic egg, Danny."

"I thought I'd spoil you a little bit." He smiled before walking towards her and handing her the treasure map, "Here, you have a few more to go yet."

Lindsay shook her head, but took the map regardless. Together, they worked their way around the apartment, laughing and giggling as they searched for Danny's presents he'd hidden.

After finding five; the last one sitting happily in the bathtub, Lindsay made her way to the couch where they had piled her presents.

"I thought you promised me you'd fix my bathroom door." She reminded him of the time he burst through it to hold her hair back while she was suffering with morning sickness.

"Ssshh." He smiled as he nudged her presents closer to her. "Come on, open them... this one first."

Lindsay accepted the floppy present with a reluctant smile on her face. "I hope you haven't spent a fortune here, baby."

"Oh shut up," he smiled at her. "You're having my baby. The very least I can do is spoil you, k?"

She giggled before excitedly ripping the Easter themed wrapping paper. Her eyes widened as the two outfits fell to her lap, with 'Mommy loves me,' on the pink outfit, and 'Daddy loves me' on the blue outfit.

"I tried to cater for a boy and a girl because we don't know if this little one is a Jenny or John yet."

"Except for she won't be called Jenny or John." Lindsay smiled.

"Again with the she... Linds, the baby is a boy."

"She is a girl, Danny." Lindsay informed him. "She and I have had conversations."

"Oh well that's funny because we have as well, and HE told me to tell you to knock it off with you calling him a girl."

"I'm sure she did."

"Open the next one." Danny growled playfully as he handed her a smaller present this time. "I think you'll like this one."

Lindsay smiled as she looked at the gift wrapped present briefly before ripping the paper to pieces. She took hold of the beaded necklace and smiled. "Oh Danny, it's beautiful I love the colour."

Smiling brightly, Danny took the necklace from her and carefully took it from its packaging. "I know you like purple, but this necklace isn't just a necklace."

"It also grants you three magical wishes, and dances while it does so." Lindsay added with a hint of sarcasm in her voice.

"Actually, smartass, that's the picture frame that you've yet to open." He smirked at her, "This one is a Mommy necklace."

She took it in her hands and arched an eyebrow. "I'm confused, you get one when you become a Mom?"

"Yes Lindsay – this is the initiation into the club." He snorted. "No babe, it's a nursing necklace. It's to prevent the baby tugging on your hair and it distracts the baby when he or she is breast feeding... and it'll go with some of the stuff you wear."

She trailed her fingertips over the beads and smiled. "Really?"

Danny nodded. "They're really popular apparently. Huge website and stuff. I just thought it was something different you could try, I mean I know you're not a jewellery person and stuff, but with things changing for us, I figured why not. And I know I'd prefer the baby to tug on the necklace as opposed to your hair. And it's strong enough to withstand the baby' tugs... well, unless HE'S macho man, then we might have an issue."

Blinking back her tears, Lindsay shuffled closer to Danny and flung her arms around him, pulling him into a hug. "That was so thoughtful, baby. I love it."

"You don't have to say you love it," he chuckled as he pressed a kiss to her temple. "It was just something I thought we could try."

"No Danny, I love it. I love how much thought you've put into it, and I love how you put thought into it being purple. You know I love purple."

Pressing another kiss to her temple, Danny shuffled out of Lindsay's embrace and handed her another present. "Here you go, here's your wish granting picture frame."

Laughing, Lindsay opened the present and true to his word, a picture frame was smiling up at her. It was as a beautiful frame and in the centre was a picture of both Danny and Lindsay that had been taken quite recently. He'd obviously had it printed and had it framed for her.

"Danny, I love it."

"Well, I lied a little with it... it doesn't grant wishes, before you start trying."

"Why would I wish for anything when I have everything I could ever want right here." She smiled as she laid her hand over his.

"The sappiness is killing me." Danny smiled. "Must. Make. Joke."

"Alright, alright." She laughed. "Don't go over all Chandler Bing, it's okay, I'll stop being all sentimental."

"Two left." Danny smiled as he handed her a box this time. "Open it!"

"Well see, I was just going to sit here and look at it. Thanks for those words of wisdom, babe."

"Open it before I throw it at you." He smirked sarcastically.

She pulled the lid from the box and took out the t-shirt. She laid it on her lap and instantly began laughing heartedly. "Due in May." She read out loud. "Oh my god, that's... I absolutely love it." She cried. "Danny!"

"Cute right?" he smiled proudly. "There were ones with like baby with an arrow pointing down to your stomach, but they didn't make me smile as much as this one did."

"And you got the month right too. I'm impressed."

"The month? I know your due date, babe."

"Go on." She smiled. "Wow me with your mad skills."

"May sixth." He smiled. "How you like that?"

"I'm impressed. Except, it's May seventh... close though, honey."

"What?" Danny spluttered. "Seventh? I... no it's..."

"I'm kidding." She giggled. "Don't have a heart attack."

He growled at her and shook his head. "Making me doubt my son's birth date, how very dare you?"

"Or your daughter's." Lindsay added.

"Son's." He smiled as he reached for another present and placed it on the coffee table that sat in front of them. "I'd hand you this one, but it's a bit heavy."

Leaning forward, Lindsay examined the huge package with a puzzled look on her face. "What is it?"

"Open it... and don't say a word about my words of wisdom there."

She fought her giggle as she began to rip the paper. What she was presented with was a beautiful cream coloured bedding set, with baby farm yard animals decorating the sheets and crib valance. Tears filled her eyes as she ran her fingertips over the plastic covering. "Danny," she whispered. "It's beautiful."

"I bought a neutral colour... so I thought cream and brown was safe. It's just... I wanted to be the first one to buy the baby his or her bedding, and I thought you'd like it... I mean, it's cute right? With those baby animals."

"It's adorable!" she squealed. Lindsay sat back and looked at the array of gifts Danny had obviously been planning for quite some time. "Danny, this... thank you."

"It's nothing, baby." He smiled. "I wanted to do something for you. It's the least I could do."

"I think you've done quite a lot for me," she smiled at him. "And I appreciate everything, but you don't have to buy me presents, Danny."

"I know that, but sometimes it just feels like I can't express how thankful I am for you and all what you've done for me, so buying you little things to express how I feel works... like I dunno, I hope you can see all the thought that I've put into these presents and just..." he took a deep breath. "You've really changed me, Linds. Like before I met you, it would have never occurred to me to do something like an Easter egg hunt... but with you, it's... you've changed me. You gave me everything I needed to be the person I wanted to be."

Swiping at her tears, Lindsay smiled as she shuffled closer to her boyfriend. "For not being able to express how thankful you are you did a fine job just then," she whispered as she peppered kisses to his jaw line. "And for the record, you've changed me too."

Danny smiled as he pressed a kiss to her temple. "We probably have another hour before we need to get up, up."

"We can do a lot in an hour." Lindsay giggled. "Perhaps I could even show you how much I appreciate all these gorgeous presents."

"Perhaps you could." He chuckled. "In fact, I think you should."

Lindsay winked as he stood from the couch, and within seconds he had wrapped her in his arms and he was carrying her, bridal style, to their bedroom.

"Eager, Mr. Messer?"

"You've a lot to thank me for," he winked cheekily as he manoeuvred his way through the doorframe, ensuring he didn't smack Lindsay's head on the frame. He kicked the door shut after them, blocking out the mess in the rest of the apartment.

It hadn't been the way in which Danny had planned the morning. He had simply wanted to show Lindsay how much he loved her, and take the opportunity to spoil her... even though he knew deep down he didn't need a reason to spoil his girlfriend.

She'd come along into his life and changed the person he was. She made things real for him. She showed him things he'd not seen before.

And now, she was giving him the chance to change even more; change into a father to their baby.

And for that, he'd be ever grateful.

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**Thanks for reading :) **


	19. Quitter

**A/N: So look at this guys, another update - and it's a request chapter too. Get me, huh? This one is dedicated to messermonroeforever125 - I bet you can't even remember requesting this song now mind, but alas. It's not much, but it's something. I hope it's okay. :)**

**Once again, huge thank you to everyone who took the time to review. All your thoughts are always so appreciated. Special mention to: **Megan, saderia, miscme, iheartcsinewyork, ncisabbylover, messermonroeforever125, Adelina Chen, piper maru duchovny, rapidtetv, afrozenheart412, 18lzytwner, Wait To You See Me Smile, and dl-shipper34 :)

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**This one is set somewhere around like Forbidden Fruit? (Can you tell I have no idea anymore?!) **

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**Quitter – Carrie Underwood **

"_You, rescued me, saved my life... just in time. Saw past all my issues and scars, and made me try."_

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In the small light creeping in from the window, Lindsay sighed contently as she watched her boyfriend's chest rise and fall steadily. She shifted closer to him, mindful of her now protruding belly and laid her head on the corner of his pillow. Her eyes searched his face as she felt butterflies in her stomach from the baby kicking. Although really, she thought that the butterflies were from simply looking at her boyfriend.

Over the years they had gone through so much. It had been issue, upon issue, upon issue with them. It seemed like as soon as they had caught a break, something else had happened. Now though, she felt like finally they'd passed whatever test and obstacles that had been put in their path, and they were now 'allowed' to be with each other. And have smiles on their faces while being with each other.

She reached out and trailed a fingertip down Danny's cheek. She didn't think he knew it, but he really had rescued her. He'd been the one thing that had kept her in New York when times had gotten tough. When she'd gotten the call about the Bozeman PD apprehending the man that had effectively ruined her childhood; she was inches away from packing it all in and giving up. And she probably would have if it hadn't have been for a nonchalant 'how ya doin'?' phone call from Danny one night. She'd had to fight her hiccupping tears as she answered the phone. She'd stood him up. She'd brushed him off. She'd generally been horrible to him at work. But despite all of that, he was still there for her as a friend. She'd managed to hold the conversation, telling him that although she appreciated his call, she had to deal with something from her past alone. And she'd hung up. Feeling horrible of course, but it had to be done.

So, thirty minutes later when she was crying for a completely different reason, she was startled by the buzzer. She'd answered, not even bothering to inquire who it was and there was then a knock at the door, and she knew. She knew from his trademark knock that he'd made his way across the city to make sure she was okay. And he did just that – after he'd bitched at her for not asking who was buzzer her apartment so late at night. She'd taken his reaming before her lip trembled. He stopped his tirade just in time to catch a falling Lindsay as she crumbled in his arms. He'd somehow made his way through her apartment and laid them on the couch, letting her curl into him as he held her.

He hadn't asked questions that night. He hadn't demanded answers. He didn't take advantage.

When her tears subsided and she had sat up, he'd reached for her remote, turned the TV on and sat on her couch; flicking through the channels with his arm draped over her shoulders. It was nothing to him; he was just there for his friend. But to Lindsay; it had meant the world.

After that night, she offered him small smiles while they were at work; feeling thankful for having Danny in her life – and although words failed her, she hoped that her smiles conveyed the gratitude she had towards him.

Then when she left for Montana; he went a step further and in true Danny fashion, he flew across the country for her. He saw past the issues she had holding her back while overlooking the scars he could see under the surface. He gave her the reason to try when she had lost the will during her testimony.

He'd saved her just in time and for that, she'd be ever grateful.

She stretched towards him and pressed a lingering kiss to his cheek before snuggling into the mattress and wiggled her way so that she fit perfectly into Danny's frame.

He'd never know of her sentimental and reaffirming trip down memory lane, but that didn't matter. What he didn't know, he couldn't make fun of her for.

They'd had their knocks that had sent them off course. They'd had their low times where things didn't look too good for them as a couple. But they fought everything they'd been faced with. They had had made it work. And their growing baby was evidence to prove that they weren't quitters.

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**I know it's short, but hopefully it was short and sweet. Thanks for reading :) **


	20. Free Fallin'

**A/N: Hi guys, here's another update - I'm cheating and just posting one I wrote a while back, but you know, hopefully you'll enjoy it all the same. **

**I absolutely adore this song when covered by John Mayer, and I definitely recommend you checking it out if you haven't already. **

**Huge thank you as ever to you lovely people who always, always make my day a better one with your absolutely wonderful reviews. You all honestly have no idea how much your kind words make my day. Special mention to:** webdlfan, Sweet LIL loz, miscme, ioanhoratio, messermonroeforever125, Megs, rapidtetv, NothatRose, pretty7, afrozenheart412, piper maru duchovny, Wait To You See Me Smile, jennifer32485, and Meredith and Derek .

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**This one is set around the time of Forbidden Fruit.**

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**Free Fallin' – John Mayer**

"_She's a good girl, loves her mama... loves Jesus and America too. She's a good girl; crazy about Elvis... loves horses and her boyfriend too. "_

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Looking up from where he was crouched, a wide smile spread across Danny Messer's face as he saw Lindsay pull up in the avalanche. She'd not seen him yet, and she was applying lip gloss in the mirror and fluffing her hair before grabbing her kit that sat next to her on the front seat. Her actions gave him a little time to just absorb her. Take her in.

It was slowly sinking in that she was pregnant, and even her engaging in such a trivial task of driving a car, or applying lip gloss amazed him. It was like he was high on Lindsay. He fought the urge to head over towards her and instead continued snapping pictures of their latest DOA.

He could hear Flack relaying everything to Lindsay as she made her way towards the scene. Danny looked up and flashed her brief smile before casting his eyes back towards the camera, letting her get on with her work.

"No hello?"

Danny looked up and flashed a brighter smile than before, seeing that Flack was walking away.

"Oh, is that how it is?" she huffed. "Pretend you're too cool for me?" Her face suggested she was hurt, but her voice indicating she was playing.

"How you feelin'?" he inquired as he snapped a new pair of latex gloves on. "How's the baby?"

"She's fine."

Danny chuckled. "You're convinced, aren't you?"

"Call it a Mommy's intuition."

"You just don't want to be overridden by testosterone in the house with two boys talking baseball."

"Oh please, you know I can kick your ass talking sport stats."

"Maybe so... but still."

Lindsay shook her head as she swiped at a blood smear, "Why do I put up with you?"

"Because you love me?" Danny smirked.

"Maybe." She smirked before standing up and heading to the Avalanche.

"Where you goin'?" Danny called.

Lindsay stopped and turned with her hands on her hips. "What? You want a play by play of what it is I'm doing?"

Danny blushed as he turned his attention back to the DOA. He didn't want a play by play... he just... was curious as to where Lindsay and his son or daughter was going.

He let out a breath as he continued to snap pictures of the way in which the victim was laid; hoping that a picture he took would back up the evidence collected, supporting the cause of death.

He cast his eyes up a little as he watched Lindsay walk past him with her flat shoes as she headed into the warehouse where Flack was currently stood, addressing the first officer on the scene.

She was good at her job. She was well loved by the entire precinct that they worked in hand with. She was the person that usually cracked the cases. She was the one that would sit at a computer monitor for an entire shift sometimes, just trying to match a missing person's picture with an autopsy photo, so that they could give that family the closure they needed. She was the one that sat in the lab, hour after hour, analysing evidence, while the rest of them were out chasing the suspects. Even though Danny knew that she really wanted to be in the thick of it with them, she never argued. She just took the jobs she was allocated and got on with it.

He let out a breath as he watched Lindsay smile. The only other smile he'd seen so bright before was one that was sported by Lindsay's mother on the brief occasion in Montana when he'd met her. And in that little space of time, Danny could tell how much Lindsay loved her mother. Sure, on the surface, Lindsay was a Daddy's girl; and often ran to him when things went wrong. But underneath the surface; underneath everything that Danny had made his way through, he could see the she was a Mama's girl. They had the same mannerisms, the same laugh, smile... eyes. It'd be her mother that Lindsay would sit on the phone to for hours on end. It'd be her mother that Lindsay wanted to hug after a hard day. And Danny knew that it was her mother that Lindsay wanted to spend time with while she was pregnant.

"You with us, Danno?"

Danny blinked and smiled at his friend. "Yeah, sure... Just drifted off for a minute there."

Flack raised an eyebrow but shrugged off Danny's behaviour. Shaking her head, Lindsay carefully lowered herself to the floor and took a deep breath as she balanced herself next to the body.

"You have a bit of a session last night there, Monroe..." Flack smirked at Danny, then back to Lindsay. "And Messer?"

"So what if we did... want the details?" Lindsay turned and smiled at her friend, leaving him with a shocked expression as he slowly backed away.

"You okay?" Danny said as he stood and made his way round to Lindsay and crouched next to her, trailing his fingertips down her back. "What's the matter?"

"It's taking me a little longer to jump around, that's all." Lindsay smiled. "I've got to be careful now my clothes are all getting a little tighter."

"You do?" Danny asked, "Why?"

"Because if I bend quickly..." Lindsay sighed. "If I bend quickly, my shirts bulge, and everyone will think I'm fat."

"Lindsay," Danny whispered. "You're not fat, you're pregnant."

"Yeah, but people like Flack don't know that yet, Danny."

"Ooh." Danny said with pursed lips. "Well, what about if you started wearing looser clothes?"

"I am." She whispered. "These are my loose clothes."

Danny blinked. "Well then, we can buy you some new clothes then, babe... Some that hide your belly until you feel comfortable in telling people."

"Telling people what?" Flack smiled as he crouched beside Lindsay.

"About the victim," Danny said instantly. "And how he has foreign trace there on his shirt; I thought we needed to be comfortable about this revelation before telling people."

Lindsay turned and blinked at Danny while Flack tried to process what Danny had just mumbled at him.

"What Danny meant to say was I'm pregnant and we were just discussing how we wanted to wait until I felt comfortable in telling people..."

Flack blinked again and swallowed. He opened his mouth but promptly closed it and blinked again. "What?"

"Danny and I are having a baby." Lindsay broke it down for Flack. "Surprise."

Flack turned to look at his friend and blinked. "What?"

"Surprise." Danny smirked with jazz hands. "Cool right?"

Flack blinked as his mouth hung slightly open. "What?"

"Lindsay and I are having a baby." Danny repeated.

"I heard that..." Flack managed to get out. "But... what?"

Lindsay shook her head and giggled as she turned to smile at Danny. He helped her stand, supporting the small of her back with a hand, while he offered her his other hand to help pull her up carefully.

The couple turned to look down at Flack, who was still staring off into the distance, crouched down next to their victim.

"What shall we do about him?" Danny asked, slightly amused.

"Well, leave him to it?" She smiled. "Least he reacted better than you."

Danny's jaw slacked. "Excuse me? For your information I-..."

"I'm kidding," Lindsay smirked as she ran her hand down his arm to calm him down. "I'm just kidding... sheesh. I'm going to go and get some statements while Flack processes everything. When he eventually comes round, let him know that I'm hungry and he needs to go on a donut run."

Danny laughed and shook his head. "Be careful, k?"

"When am I not?"

He shook his head as he kissed her quickly on the cheek. As he moved away she caught him by placing her hands on either side of her face before meeting him in a loving kiss.

When she pulled away, he found himself stepping forwards as he looked for her warm lips. He peeled his eyes open and smiled as she stepped away from him.

"Remember. Donut."

"Yes ma'am."

She smiled and blew him a kiss. "Keep your eye on him, k?"

"Will do." Danny smiled. "Love you, Linds."

"You too." She replied, smiling, before turning on her heel and heading off to the group of people Flack's guys had rounded up for statements.

He watched her walk away from him for a moment and just as he was about to turn, he saw her turn and flash him a quick smile before stepping up her pace. Danny then let out a breath before he turned and retook his place next to his friend who was still crouched, staring off into the distance.

Prodding his friend in the arm for a moment, Danny shrugged before he decided to turning back to process the scene.

"Lindsay's pregnant?" Flack whispered. "As in, Monroe? As in... Montana?"

"Yup. All three of them. Pregnant. What you think about that?" Danny smirked proudly.

"She's... pregnant? But... how."

"How? Well Flack, when a man and a woman love each other they often-..."

"I know how, wiseass." Flack growled as he smacked his friend. "But... Since when? How? I thought... You two... Lindsay and you? Baby?"

"Do you need to like sit down or something?"

"No... No. I'm good." Flack coughed. "I just... You guys are having a baby? Like, she's pregnant?"

"Oh my God, for the nineteenth time. Yes, she's pregnant. Would you like it written down or something?"

"Wow." Flack gasped. "Just... wow."

"Should I be offended at this reaction, Don?"

"What?" He spluttered. "No... God no. I'm just... I'm happy for you. I'm shocked, but this is happy reaction. I didn't realise you two were so close again. I thought you were screwing... Not baby making."

"Nice." Danny nodded, with a disapproving look plastered across his face. "Real nice."

"Well, you know what I mean... Don't you? I mean, you two must be pretty tight in order to be doing this together; she hasn't strangled you... yet."

"Yeah, we've gotten pretty close ever since she found out. Things are really looking up for us, y'know?"

"Did I hear you tell her you loved her?"

Danny smiled and nodded. "Yeah... yeah you did."

"Where the hell have I been?" Flack implored. "Like where; with the fairies or something?"

"Heaven with an Angell."

"Oh sweet mother..." Flack grimaced as he smacked Danny on the back of his head. "I'm cringing over here for your unborn kid, Messer."

"Speaking of... Lindsay's hungry." Danny smirked as he snapped on some gloves. "She asked me to ask you to go on a donut run."

"Me? Keep dreamin'... She ain't my girl and the kid ain't mine... No chance am I going on a donut run, Mess. You're out of luck."

"See, she specifically asked for you, and I've got to stay her to process the scene. You wouldn't want a hormonal Lindsay to find out you'd not gone to get her a doughnut, would you?"

Flack blinked. "What would the consequences be?"

"For me? It's too scary to talk about... For you; well, you like Jess, don't you? Would like to keep her around right?"

"Yeah, it'd be nice." Flack nodded.

"Well, if you don't get Lindsay her donut, chances are Jess would be going bye bye through the evil sisterhood of hormonal-ness that we men have to suffer."

Flack blinked. "Are you speaking English?"

"I'm speaking woman." Danny declared before snapping up. "She's looking. Quick Flack. RUN!"

Flack turned quickly and caught Lindsay's eyes before looking up and down the street. "There's a dunkin' donuts down the block, right?"

Danny nodded.

"I'll be back in ten." Flack muttered before heading off down the sidewalk.

Smirking, Danny winked at Lindsay to get her attention to which she held her thumb up discreetly. Danny nodded in response before turning back to their victim.

"I promise you'll get my full attention now, buddy." Danny sighed as he began to gather the evidence he had documented through pictures.

If he was completely honest; with each person that he told that his girlfriend that he loved more than life itself was pregnant with his baby, he felt he was ready to burst with pride. And while it wasn't the most ideal way to tell one of their best friends they were having a baby, a part of Danny was glad that Flack was now in the loop regarding Lindsay's pregnancy. The more people that knew meant that there was less stress on Lindsay's shoulders as she tried to hide her growing bump. Danny figured that if minimising the stress in Lindsay's life could be controlled; he for one was going to make sure it was.

Things hadn't been easy for them, and everyone and his brother was well aware of the fact that they'd battled to get to where they were now. And although they were mixing up the traditional ways of having a baby and all the stuff that came with forever and ever after, he could feel himself falling free. He no longer had the restraints and worry of his relationship being in pieces. He'd been given a second chance by someone, and was determined to embrace it and thank whoever it was that had given him such an opportunity.

And as he watched her in her element; he knew that the only way he could embrace his second chance was by falling more in love with her every day.

Just like how she loved him.

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**Thanks for reading; I hope you enjoyed. Thoughts are always appreciated ;)**


	21. For Good

**A/N: howdy! :) The response to last chapter really shocked me because after I had posted the chapter I was all - Laura, were you high... it sucked. Why did you post it - but everyone seemed to really like it, so perhaps, I'm just paranoid and over critical. Either way, I really did appreciate that feedback.**

**This chapter is dedicated to Megan, as she gave me the idea for setting of this chapter, and she needs cheering up. So here you go, I really hope you like it!! Speaking of...**** without giving too much away, I slipped the name of the setting into the story, so google it and look at the pictures. It's beautiful. :) (But don't look at the menu, because I used a creative license there!) **

**Anyway, huge thank you to: **piper maru duchovny, messermonroeforever125, miscme, jennifer32485, dl-shipper34, Elja, webdlfan, Meredith and Derek, DAnNSfreak, afrozenheart412, NothatRose, Hope06 x by like six!! lol - saderia, 18lzytwner and iheartcsinewyork.** I really appreciate all of your kind words - thank you all so much!**

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**This one is set around like 5x14?**

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**For Good – Idina Menzel & Kristin Chenoweth**

_I've heard it said that people come into our lives for a reason; bringing something we must learn. And we are led, to those who help us most to grow, if we let them and we help them in return well. I don't know if I believe that's true; but I know I'm who I am today because I knew you._

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Lindsay's eyes were glistening with awe as Danny stood to the side of her with a blindfold in his hand.

"Surprise." He smiled.

Her jaw slacked a little as she blinked and turned to face him. "How... When?"

Danny took her hand and led her towards their target, "I got the idea a few weeks back."

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"_We never do anything." It was a random statement that was filled with frustration. _

"_Well babe, as soon as the criminal of New York take a sabbatical, we'll work on our social events calendar, but until then..."_

"_I'm serious Danny, when was the last time we did something?"_

"_We were doing something fifteen minutes ago." He smirked ._

"_Other than that," Lindsay chuckled, despite herself. "I repeat, I'm serious Danny."_

"_Well, what would you like to do?" Danny asked as he fixed the towel he was sporting around his waist as he sat on the bed next to his girlfriend. "You want to go out to dinner?"_

"_Well, we do that..." Lindsay sighed. "We live in New York Danny, there's so much to do around us, and we do absolutely nothing."_

"_Well one of those reasons is because if we were to walk down the street it'll probably cost us fifteen bucks."_

"_You're not listening to me." Lindsay huffed as she stood, the shirt she was wearing barely scraping her thighs. _

_Sighing, Danny grabbed some of the material and pulled her backwards, sitting her on his lap. "Babe, come on..."_

"_No, you don't care about me." _

"_I care lots about you."_

"_You don't even." Lindsay insisted as she squirmed to move from his lap. "Let go. I want to go and sulk."_

_He let her go and she made her way across the bedroom in his crisp white shirt that was now getting slightly snug from her baby bump. "Linds, honestly, if we were to do something what would you want to do?"_

_She sighed as she opened her drawer and pulled out a pair of pyjamas shorts. "Honestly?"_

"_Whatever you would want."_

"_Well, there's three things."_

"_Alright,"_

"_One would be to go to the movies every now and then." _

"_I could definitely get on board with that," Danny reasoned. "What else?"_

_She sighed. "You'll never go for it. You've made your opinion on this topic obvious."_

"_Try me." He smiled._

"_Well," she smiled shyly as she pulled her shorts on and adjusted them around her belly. "I'd love to go and see a Broadway show."_

_Danny fought the groan that was fighting to be released. "Which one?"_

"_Wicked." She said as she closed her eyes, waiting for Danny to point blank reject the idea of it. _

"_And what's the third thing you'd like to do?"_

_She opened her eyes and blinked. "Um, go out for meals at nice restaurants... you know, ones that you've got to dress up to go to... only once in a blue moon, but you know, once the baby comes we're not going to be..."_

_Danny stood and made his way across the bedroom. He smiled down at her and pressed a kiss to the top of her head. "Leave it with me." He promised before heading out of their bedroom. _

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"I didn't realise that when you said, 'leave it with me' you'd actually get tickets." Lindsay beamed.

"So what did you think?" he smirked as he took Lindsay's arm and laced it through his, "I was fobbing you off?"

"Well yeah..." Lindsay blushed. "A little."

He led her into the theatre and pressed a kiss to her cheek as he handed their tickets to an attendant who began to lead the way to their seats. "You should know me better than that by now, Montana."

"I should." She agreed as Danny held his hand out, signalling for Lindsay to lead the way to their seats two spaces along the row. They were situated towards the front and in the centre. Lindsay took a moment to take in the stage and let out a sigh. "I can't believe you did this."

Danny winked at her as he carefully slipped her coat from her arms and nodded towards the seat, hinting for her to take a seat.

As the curtain rose and the lights fell, Lindsay's eyes lit up as the show began.

Danny sat on with a glint of awe in his eyes as he watched Lindsay's eyes sparkle ittle did she know what Danny had planned for the rest of their evening.

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"I still can't believe you'd never seen it..." Danny implored. "The way you carry on, I thought you were this Wicked obsessive."

"Oh I am," she assured him. "I just never had the opportunity to go... and it's a little lame going by yourself." She giggled. "You know... looks a little sad."

"I wouldn't know." Danny smirked as he laced his fingers through her's. "You alright there? You want to take a break? Want me to hail a cab, we've not got far to go but..."

"I'm pregnant." Lindsay sighed as she relayed a sentence that was becoming on she said quite often. "Not unable to walk. I'm fine."

"I'm just checking." Danny informed her.

After the show had finished, Danny had smiled and informed her that the night wasn't over. Which was probably the worse move on his part ever... She was like a little girl on Christmas Eve, pressing for information from her parents about what Santa was bringing.

What he had planned was a night to trump all nights.

He'd done his research, and inquired to all those he knew that were well versed in fancy pants, non Danny Messer style restaurants. Granted Hawkes had given him a whole bunch of wonderful restaurants; nothing jumped out at him.

So instead of going for word of mouth recommendations, he turned to Lindsay's best friend; otherwise known as Google, and as usual, Google had come through for him. He'd been led to a upscale restaurant that sat on the waterfront of the Hudson, underneath the Brooklyn Bridge. The exquisite sign that hung above the door read 'The River Cafe' and judging by Lindsay's facial expressions, she was hugely impressed with his choice of venue for their meal in the fancy restaurant they had to 'dress up for.'

Danny squeezed Lindsay's hand affectionately as he nodded towards the restaurant.

"Danny..." she blinked.

"Come on, I'm starving." He smiled as he pulled her towards the restaurant. "What are you waiting for?"

"Danny..."

"Look," he smiled at her. "You said you wanted us to do something, and you're right. We do need some time to ourselves. Once the baby comes, we're going to be Mommy and Daddy with very little time for Danny and Lindsay. So let's make the most of it now, okay?"

Lindsay let out a breath before squeezing his hand and letting him lead the way. "Oh, before I forget..." She tugged his hand towards her, getting his attention as she stood on her tiptoes. "Hearing you call us Mommy and Daddy just killed me a little inside."

Danny let out a chuckle as he led them into the restaurant; letting Lindsay absorb the fact that she was a very lucky woman.

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"So now Montana; this view here," Danny smiled as he pointed towards the New York skyline that was spectacularly lit up in the night's sky as they sat at their table overlooking the Brooklyn Bridge. "Does this beat the wheat fields?"

"What would you do if I said yes?" she smiled.

"I'd say victory was mine..."

"Psych." She smiled. "You're never going to sway me, Danny. You can take the girl out of the country, but you can never take the country out of the girl. I know that I'll live here for the rest of my life, but the skyline will never beat the wheat fields."

Danny sighed. "Well, if we were to move to Montana."

"Because we'd lost our minds." Lindsay added.

Danny growled at her before continuing. "Would you look at a wheat field and think 'nothin' beats the New York skyline'? Or am I chasing a pipe dream?"

"Whenever I look at a wheat field I think of the New York skyline." Lindsay smiled. "Because it reminds me of you."

"What does; the wheat fields or the skyline?"

"Well, both..."

"Both?"

"Both because they remind me of the conversation we had; I'd just started..."

"And we were working the mermaid case." Danny smiled. "I remember."

"Of course you do." Lindsay beamed. "You never forget anything."

"I have a confession." Danny took a breath and reached across the table as he laced his fingers with Lindsay's. "I kind of had an ulterior motive in bringing you here tonight." He began. "But before you panic, I'm not going to get down on one knee and propose; I know you're not there yet and I'm okay with that."

Even though she did well to hide her terror, at his admission he saw the relief displayed across her face. He pulled his chair closer to her's and moved his hand so that it sat on her thigh.

"You came into my life for a reason, Linds. I never believed any of that crap... but when I met you, you changed everything I had ever believed in. It was like I'd been led to you somehow, so that you could make me the person I am today. So much of me is what I've learnt from you."

Lindsay fought her smiles and set her hand over his on her thigh.

"I mean, you can ask Mac... or anyone, I was a different guy before I knew you."

"Oh believe me, I've heard the stories." Lindsay smiled with tears sparkling in her eyes.

Danny slid his hand up Lindsay's thigh before resting it on her belly. "And... I know we haven't had it easy, but this baby will be good for us." He said as their baby kicked underneath his fingers. "And she agrees." Danny smiled.

"You said she." Lindsay observed.

"I'm humouring you." He smiled as he swiped a strand of hair from her face. "You've moulded me into the guy I knew I wanted to be and I know I'm the person I am today because of you, and for that, I'll always love you."

Lindsay blinked as tears glistened in her eyes. She then leant forwards and pressed a loving kiss to Danny's cheek. "That was even more beautiful than the first time I heard it tonight."

"I know not what you speak of." Danny said as he shuffled away from her, back to his meal.

Lindsay merely arched an eyebrow as her eyes pressed for the truth.

"So worth the ninety nine cents I paid for the song on iTunes." Danny smirked proudly as he sat back on his chair and stretched slightly.

Lindsay giggled as she twirled the Carbonara around her fork. "There was me thinking those were all original words spoken straight from the heart."

"Oh they were. Every single one was heartfelt." Danny assured her as he took a sip of his wine, and then cringed at the taste. "They were just well rehearsed in the shower and borrowed from elsewhere."

"Wait. In the shower? What?" Lindsay asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Well, it's a catchy song, and..." Danny sighed. "Alright, I was singing in the shower."

Lindsay bit her lip. "You were singing Wicked songs in the shower?"

"Shout it a bit louder, babe. I don't think Flack who's sat in his apartment across town quite heard you..."

"I just wanted to make sure..." Lindsay giggled. "Who would have thought you'd have been a closet Broadway geek."

"I am not a Broadway geek." Danny argued.

"You are a Broadway geek." Lindsay teased. "To be fair, I'm not the best influence. But still, you're a Broadway geek. Showtunes and all."

"The song has a bit of meaning that you know... I can relate to, thank you very much."

"I can't argue with that." She smiled as she took a sip of her water. "Why did you get wine? You hate wine."

"Because I knew if I had gotten a cocktail you would have killed me."

"I haven't had cocktails since my senior year in college." Lindsay laughed.

"Well that's a blatant lie." Danny chuckled. "Allow me to remind you of Adam's birthday, 2007."

"What about it?"

"What did we get absolutely wasted on?"

Lindsay bit her lip. "Danny, I'm begging you not to yell the name out."

"So you _do_ remember..." He teased like a child.

"Danny if you love me you won't."

"The scream-"

"Danny!" Lindsay gasped as she kicked him under the table. "Danny, don't."

"Screaming orgasms..." He finished regardless of her begging and pleading.

Lindsay offered him a fake smile as she twirled some spaghetti around her fork. "Yeah well, someone won't be getting one of those tonight."

Swallowing, Danny shifted in his seat and looked out onto the Hudson and admired the view. "I might not, but you will."

Although he didn't see it, he heard Lindsay drop her fork to her plate.

"You're a bad influence on me," he heard her mumble.

"Maybe sometimes." He smiled.

"But for the majority, you're pretty amazing." She smiled shyly. "And you know, for the record, you've changed me too."

"Please." Danny snorted. "I made you a little more stronger and more tolerant to shit."

"Language!" She scolded.

"It's true."

"Perhaps," Lindsay shrugged. "But if you carried on listening to the bridge of the song, you'd have heard Kristin tell us that we're led to those who help us grow, so long as we help them in return..."

"You're right." Danny smiled. "She did tell us that."

"All I know is that I'm a better person than what I was before I knew you." Lindsay finished. "And I guess I could say that so much of what I am is taken from what you've taught me."

"Taught you?" Danny chuckled, "No way, Montana. You're crazy."

"You flying across the country for me taught me that it was okay to let you in. You being there for me regardless taught me how to forgive, despite the fact I had pushed you away for months, you still managed to forgive me for that. You falling to pieces taught me that no matter how much I'm hurting, you hurting matters more to me. Without you, I wouldn't have experienced any of that."

"I guess." Danny teased. "I suppose we're both good for each other."

"I suppose we are." Lindsay smiled in agreement.

And although he'd never admit it; Lindsay had left her handprint on his heart and had changed him for good. But if he was completely honest; it was a change he was more than happy accept and embrace. Because he knew for a fact that he'd never be able to cope without her.

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**Thanks for reading. Any thoughts are, as ever, hugely appreciated. :) **


	22. 100 Years

**A/N: Hi guys, sorry it's been a while since I last updated, I've been fighting with some writer's block accompanied with my student teaching placement starting tomorrow - so this one may not be my best, admittedly, but I'd tweaked it that much I was going to wind up with nothing left. Hopefully you'll enjoy it... hopefully! ****This one is dedicated to Julia who asked for this song... I'm still working on everyone else who has asked for songs; I'm just trying to find a way to fit them in. :)**

**********And also, thank you to everyone who's reviewed and added this story to alerts. The response to any story I post always astounds me, and I'm just glad you all seem to like what I post - which makes the writing process that much more enjoyable!! I honestly cannot thank you all enough for the lovely comments, support and general kindness in your reviews! :)**

**********Huge and special shout out to: **piper maru duchovny, Meggie, Meredith and Derek, afrozenheart412, FoxPhile, Wait To You See Me Smile, ioanhoratio, jennifer32485, iheartcsinewyork, Jupitor's-Cowgirl, ncisabbylover, 18lzytwner & ZoeyBug

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**This one is set before Forbidden Fruit - (totally lost the chronological order timeline now... lol) **

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**100 Years - Five for Fighting**

_I'm 33 for a moment, still the man, but you see I'm a they... A kid on the way. A family on my mind._

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Looking around the break room, Danny smiled proudly as he pulled himself up onto a barstool. "So, thanks for comin'..." He began.

"Shouldn't we wait for Lindsay if this is a group thing?" Sheldon suggested.

"She'll be here in a second." Danny smiled. "See, I just wanted to talk to you guys about somethin'."

The team shared looks among each other before turning their attention back to Danny.

Mac raised an eyebrow to Danny; his eyes conveying a long list of questions to his younger co worker and Danny merely smiled. He was positive he wanted to do this.

"The suspense is killing me." Stella cried.

"See the thing is," Danny paused as he let the proud smile sit on his face for a moment or two. He then went into his pocket and pulled out a small piece of what seemed to be paper. He turned it around and revealed that what they thought was a piece of paper was actually an ultrasound scan.

Jaws fell among those that didn't know and silence rang in the break room.

"Feel free to express something 'round now..." Danny hinted.

"Dude, who'd you steal that from?" Flack teased despite him already knowing about Lindsay's pregnancy.

"It's my copy, idiot." Danny smirked as he handed the picture of his child to Adam.

"You're gonna be a Dad?!" Adam blurted out. "With who?! Dude, does Lindsay know?! She's gonna be mad if you've told us and you've not told her. Especially if she's you know... I mean it says on Facebook you're in a relationship and I just assumed that... Oh God, it's going to get awkward all over again, isn't it?! I can't possibly deal with that tension again!"

Leaning across to his co-worker, Hawkes patted Adam on the back softly before pointing out Lindsay's name at the top of the ultrasound picture. Adam blinked and looked towards Sheldon, before looking at Danny and dropping his jaw. "Lindsay's pregnant?! Does she know you know?"

"He was probably there when this was taken, Adam." Hawkes chuckled. "For someone who's so damn smart, you're not all that smart, are you?"

"Socially I'm not but... she's pregnant? I just... I don't..."

"While Adam digests that..." Hawkes began. "Are you two happy about this then?"

Danny didn't need to answer as the team followed his bright smile, which led them into the hallway and they were met with Lindsay, who was heading from the locker room to the break room. Her lab coat hid what everyone was desperately searching for, and the smile on her face suggested she was wearing the lab coat on purpose.

Adam and Hawkes glanced at each other before rushing out into the hallway and gathered around a smiling Lindsay. Danny watched as Adam popped open the buttons on Lindsay's lab coat and gasping when they saw her tight fitting shirt.

"She's pregnant!!" Adam bellowed at Danny who was stood in the break room. "Like, she's pregnant!!"

"He doesn't get out much often, does he?" Stella teased as she glanced over to where Lindsay was fighting her way into the break room.

Danny pursed his lips and cut his eyes, "I get Flack and Mac not going out, Stel... But... Why aren't you...?"

Stella smiled. "I've known for a while," She admitted. "Lindsay came to me with a 'hypothetical' question about a friend of her's in Jersey who was in an awfully similar situation to Lindsay. I managed to put two and two together, and got three."

"It was a little pathetic," Lindsay's voice sounded as she made her way into the break room. "But surprise!"

"How far along are you?" Hawkes questioned.

"Three months." Lindsay smiled over her shoulder. "That picture was taken yesterday."

"So you don't know the sex yet?" Flack questioned.

"No that's not for a few more weeks yet," Danny answered. "But we want to wait, right?"

Lindsay sighed and nodded sadly. "Yeah, totally. Exactly. We absolutely positively want to wait... Not."

"Somebody doesn't look too impressed about that decision." Mac observed.

"It's because she wants to know whether her intuition is right or not... I know she isn't, so I don't want her to get upset." Danny teased lightly.

"Well, what's the intuition?" Stella beamed. "Tell me a girl."

Lindsay's face broke out into a massive smile. Instead of voicing anything, Lindsay simply nodded.

Stella stepped back and turned her head to the side, then to the other, and nodded. "It's a girl."

"Because you're all knowledgeable in this department?" Flack chuckled.

"Woman's intuition." Stella corrected him. "Smartass."

Hawkes and Flack glanced at each other before moving across the room and patting Danny on the back. "So, no longer are we a bachelor..."

"I haven't been a 'bachelor' for a long time, guys." Danny chuckled. "But yeah, I'm a part of a they now."

"A they?" Stella wondered. "Care to elaborate?"

"Yeah they, the Messers." Danny smiled towards Lindsay. "At some point; when we're both ready."

"Embracing marriage? He's really taking to this then." Flack smirked at Sheldon as he pulled his friend into a one armed hug. "Well, what can I say? I'm happy for you buddy."

"Yeah, Danny; congrats." Hawkes smiled.

Clearing her throat, Stella made a point of walking over towards Lindsay. "It's okay Lindsay, Adam and I here will come and congratulate you."

"Hey, we were working our way over, thank you very much." Flack growled. "We're not that horrible."

"Fooled us." Mac teased from where he stood in the background. "Congratulations," He then smiled as he moved towards Lindsay and wrapped his arm around her shoulders. "Again."

She turned and wrapped her arms around her boss and squeezed him. "Thanks."

"And, when you get really mad with him, remember what I told you before."

Lindsay smiled and nodded.

She cast her mind back to a conversation herself and Mac had shared in his office when Danny and she had told him about her pregnancy. After they'd gone through all the paperwork and made sure Lindsay knew her limits in regards to the job, Mac had asked to speak to Lindsay on her own. Danny had raised his eyebrows in hesitance but had left the room regardless.

Mac Taylor had then gone onto share with Lindsay everything he knew about Danny. Not in a bad way, of course. But he'd told her stories that he knew she'd probably never heard. Neither knew why Mac had decided to take such a long trip down memory lane, but a part of Lindsay suspected that it was because he was just so proud of his younger co-worker; he'd taken on the role of a father figure, for Danny specifically, and at such a significant turning point he couldn't help but burst with pride, thus wanting to share all of the stories with Lindsay.

Lindsay had found out a lot from Mac that night; much to Danny's dismay. But what had stuck out most in her mind was a little scenario that she'd been convinced Mac had made up, but upon asking Danny about it, he'd blushed and shuffled in his seat; indicating to Lindsay that it was absolutely true.

Not a year prior to her joining the NYPD, Danny and Mac had shared quite an interesting conversation over a recently deceased bride. Mac had teased Danny that he could fall in love and instantly, Danny had dismissed the mere prospect of it with almost disgust, as Mac recalled.

Lindsay glanced away from Mac for a moment and her eyes fell on her boyfriend on the opposite side of the break room with everyone crowded around him; winding him up about the prospect of having a daughter and fighting off all the terrible boys that would most definitely fight for her affections.

She just caught his eye with her gaze and he winked. It was a small gesture that was just a way of him acknowledging their glance at each other, and as Lindsay turned back towards Mac, she was met with a grin plastered across her boss' face.

"You look happy." Lindsay observed with a giggle.

"Did you see that wink?" Mac began. "It was filled with love and adoration... I told him he'd fall in love. I love being right."

"You think?" Lindsay asked. Even though Danny said the three words from time to time, an extremely small part of her still sometimes questioned whether Danny loved her, or whether he just thought he did because she was pregnant.

"I don't think." Mac chuckled as he pulled Lindsay into his side. "I know."

Lindsay stood and made her way over to Danny as she tucked herself into his side, letting him wrap his arm around her shoulder, pulling her close to him. She felt him press a kiss to the top of her head as he carried on the conversation with their co-workers.

Judging by the look on their faces, his thoughtful and romantic actions had shocked their colleagues. For Lindsay though, that particular side of Danny was one that only she knew. It was one of the many sides of Danny that she loved and when he did such little things like that, they meant a heck of a lot to her.

She let out a breath as she laid her hand on his chest and gazed up at him while he continued his conversation about their son or daughter.

It was then that Lindsay Monroe realised she'd be quite happy to spend one hundred years with Danny Messer.

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**Thanks for reading - your views and comments are always appreciated :) **


	23. When You Got A Good Thing

**Hi guys! This is actually a request chapter, and is dedicated to ****monroemesser125. Such a fab song - with so many epic lines I could have used, so I hope you enjoy what I did with it, hun! This is for all of the amazing reviews you leave me - and all the songs you suggest. Thank you. **

******This chapter isn't as beta'ed as much as what I usually do, so please overlook any mistakes that may be dotted in there. Sorry guys!**

**And, thank you to everyone who left me a lovely review from last chapter. You guys really are the best and make my sunny days a little brighter! :) Special mention to: **Jupitor's-Cowgirl, piper maru duchovny, ZoeyBug, uscrocks, miscme, iheartcsinewyork, Sweet LIL loz, saderia, messermonroeforever125, 18lzytwner, rapidtetv, afrozenheart412, Wait To You See Me Smile, and DAnNSfreak

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**This one is set sometime through Lindsay's pregnancy... I have no idea with these nowadays!**

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**When You Got a Good Thing – Lady Antebellum **

_You can make me laugh when I want to cry, this will last forever, I know, I know. So baby, hold on tight; don't let go._

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"Linds?" Danny called as he pulled his key from the lock and made his way into their apartment.

Although they hadn't officially moved her in as of yet, Lindsay was pretty much living with Danny. They hadn't really discussed where they would live; she had just stayed one night around three months ago, and neither of them had wanted her to go back to her apartment... so she never had. They knew that she would eventually need to have all of her things in their apartment; but neither of them could see the rush.

He strained his ears as he listened intently for his girlfriend. "Babe?"

He stopped what he was doing and stood for a moment. His ears perked up when they heard what he thought were sobs, coming from the general direction of the bedroom.

Dropping everything, Danny rushed to the bedroom and flung himself through the door; his heart racing as he did so.

"Wassa matter?" he barely managed to get out as he crumbled by the side of the bed where she was laid. "Are you okay? Is it the baby?"

Curling herself further into a ball, Lindsay ignored Danny's desperate inquires, and clutched a red piece of material.

"Lindsay, I need you to listen to me. I need to know what the matter is!" He snapped urgently, "Lindsay!"

"The baby's fine." She whimpered, instantly letting Danny breathe a sigh of relief.

"What's wrong then, Linds?"

"I can't do this." She whispered. "I can't..."

He blinked; his racing heart was back and had taken residency in his throat. "Lindsay, what do you mean?" He was desperately searching for answers around the room to explain her behaviour. "Lindsay... Can't do what?"

"I'm going to ruin our child's life!" She wailed as she clutched the red material. "I'm going to fail as a Mom!"

He bit his lip to fight the laugh he wanted to release. "Linds, what do you mean fail? You never fail at anything."

"I failed."

"Failed at what, sweetheart?" Danny whispered as he took hold of her hand and tugged her upward so that she was sat in the middle of a mass pile of what appeared to be clean laundry. "Talk to me, baby girl."

"Look at this mess!" Lindsay cried as she smashed her hand against the laundry that lay on their bed. "Look at it!"

"It's alright," he chuckled softly. "I can put all the laundry away – that's no big deal," his fingertip swiped at a tear. "There's no reason to cry about it, sweetheart."

"NO!" She cried. "You don't understand."

"I don't?" Danny pressed softly. "Want to try and explain it to me then, honey?"

"This was a white wash!" She cried as she flung the red vest she was holding in the air, landing on the pile with the rest of their clothes. "Everything's red!"

Danny's eyes widened as he realised what had happened. "Linds..."

"I think I put a red shirt in with everything else... and... and... it dyed everything! I'm so sorry, Danny."

"Sorry? Linds, baby... You don't gotta be sorry. I don't care that everything's pink... I've been meaning to try it for a while; saves me going out and buying new."

"All your wifebeaters are pink." She cried. "All your boxers are pink. All my bras are pink. Everything's fucking pink!"

Danny blinked as the curse word that Lindsay had just bellowed registered. "Linds, it's alright, we can buy new. My boxers had seen better days anyway; it gives me a good excuse to buy us some new stuff."

"It's not the point." Lindsay whimpered. "I'm going to be such a bad Mom, I've changed my mind."

"Changed your mind?" Danny inquired.

"I want to return this baby; I'll come back at a later date and reconsider," she whimpered once again. "I'm not ready for a baby. I can't even do a load of laundry; I don't want to... I just can't be a mother right now."

Danny took hold of Lindsay's hands and squeezed them gently. "Linds, listen to me babe."

"Nothing you do or say can change my mind." She informed him. "I'm done."

Ignoring the hormones that were currently raging through her body, Danny leant forwards and pressed a kiss to the tip of her nose. "Lindsay Monroe, will you listen to me for a second?"

Lindsay sighed.

"You didn't fail as a Mom today; wanna know why?"

"I did." She whispered.

"You didn't; and if you'd listen to me, I'd tell you why."

"Why?" she sniffled.

"Because," he fought the smile on his face. "It was me that put the load of laundry in. I thought that if I just threw the red shirt in with the whites it'd be fine, because there were only whites left and I found the red shirt on the bedroom floor." He paused. "It was my fault, sweetheart; I shoved everything in before I went to work, and I guess you came across it before I did."

Lindsay's tears stopped for a moment. "Really?"

Danny nodded as he wiped the remaining tears from her face. "Really, really." He smiled. "I promise."

"But I was convinced I had put that load in..."

"It's probably because you're not used to me doing laundry... and this would be why. I screw up."

"So it wasn't me?" Lindsay asked again to confirm. "Like it really wasn't me?"

Danny shook his head. "No baby; it wasn't you."

She wiped her face and sat up a little straighter. "Hmm."

"Hmm?" Danny pressed. "Are we now thinking?"

"It happens occasionally," Lindsay snipped with a hint of teasing in her voice. Her eyes quickly glanced over Danny, but the smile she'd had briefly on her face, quickly disappeared as she launched herself across the bed. "Danny!" she cried as she ran her fingertip over his cut and temporary bandage that showed half of said cut on his forehead.

"Babe," he sighed. "It's nothing, I promise."

"Danny it doesn't look like nothing." She cried, fresh tears brimming. "What happened?"

"Nothing babe, honestly."

"Danny! You're still bleeding." She snapped before her glassy eyes filled with tears. "You need to..." she sniffled. "You need to..."

"Tell you what happened?" Danny finished for her.

"Yes, that exactly." Lindsay sniffled.

He sighed as he tapped her thigh, hinting for her to move slightly so that he could sit next to her on the bed. "Promise you won't freak out?"

She peered at his cut and shook her head; she then promptly stood and grabbed his hand, tugging him from the room. Wordlessly, she dragged him through the apartment and pulled out a barstool and patted the seat before moving into their kitchen to grab the first aid kit. By the time she returned he was sat on the stool. She opened the kit and grabbed the things she needed.

"Okay, go."

"Go?" he asked, puzzled. "Go where? You've pinned me in this chair."

"You wish," she smiled before pouring a little antiseptic onto a cotton wool pad. "Tell me what happened." She instructed. "This'll sting." She said as she was putting the pad onto the cut area.

"Holy mother... fucking... Lindsay oh my god. Ow. Ow... Lindsay!"

"I told you." She said with a matter of fact tone as she dabbed the cut. "Now, when you're ready."

Fighting the tears in his eyes from the stinging cut, Danny let out a breath. "Promise me you won't freak out..." he paused. "And you'll put that shit away."

"I wanted to make sure it was clean." She shrugged as she pushed the bottle away from her.

Danny flinched as she prodded the area.

"Today." She prompted.

Sighing, Danny began his tale. "Okay, so Flack and I were-.."

"I should have known." Lindsay sighed. "Which building was it this time? The Chrysler building? You go back to the Statue of Liberty to abseil down her face again?"

"That's real funny smartass." Danny smirked. "As I was saying, Flack and I were grabbing a slice after work; as a pit stop, because the train was down for maintenance..."

Lindsay nodded.

"They said it'd be back up in a half an hour... So obviously that meant an hour."

Lindsay giggled.

"So to kill some time, we decided to get something to eat. So we're sat there on the stools and everything. It's all good, and then all of a sudden the chair I was sat on crumbled underneath me. I ended up smacking my head on the bar in front of us, hence the cut."

Lindsay gasped as she flung his glasses from his face, making them tumble to his lap as she peeled his eye open and examined his pupil. "You could have a concussion!! What are you doing here? You need to be in the hospital. Danny, what if you..."

"Lindsay, breathe." Danny smiled as he took her hands and lowered them from his eyes. He then placed his glasses on his face and moved forwards to press a kiss to her lips. "I'm okay. I promise."

"Do you have a headache?"

"Nope."

"Is your vision blurred?"

"No."

"Do you feel unwell?"

"Nope." Danny sighed. "Lindsay, I promise you. I'm alright. If anyone needs to be in the hospital, it's Flack. He stopped breathing for a minute or so from laughing. His brain was probably starved of oxygen for a good thirty seconds."

"So it just broke under you?" Lindsay inquired as she applied a bigger band aid in comparison to the mini one he had on previously.

"Yup, pretty much. I think it was the second slice I'd had; it couldn't take the weight."

Lindsay fought the giggle that was desperate to escape. Seeing her smile, Danny's fingertips went to her ticklish sides. "Come on, you know you want to giggle!" he teased as he tickled her. "You know you're going to!"

"Danny no!" she cried as she squirmed away from him. "Dan..."

"You know you want to laugh at me."

"Danny! No! Stop it!"

"Not until you laugh at me."

"No!"

"If you don't I'm going to..."

"What?" She smirked, "break our bar stool too?" she cried with laughter.

Danny stopped and stared at her as if she'd just punched him in the face. "Oh... Oh you didn't."

"I'm sorry," she giggled. "It's just..."

"It's on." Danny smirked as he stood from the stool and chased after her as she darted through the apartment and flung the bedroom door shut.

"You're gonna pay for that dig, Montana!" Danny teased as he burst through the bedroom door. "Big time."

Stood on the other side of the room, Lindsay used the bed as a divider between the both of them. "You have to catch me first."

Danny wiggled his eyebrows as he squared up to her from across the bed. He then flung himself forwards onto the fresh laundry and grabbed her legs. "Got'cha!" he cried.

"Danny!" Lindsay giggled as she squirmed away from him.

"Say you're sorry!" he sniffled playfully as he stared up at her with bright blue eyes. "You hurt my feelings."

"But!"

"Say it," he sniffled dramatically, his blue eyes glistening at her.

She bent down to his level and pressed a kiss to the tip of his nose. "I'm sorry."

"That's better." He grinned as he pressed a kiss to her lips. "Feel better now?"

Lindsay glanced to the pile of pink and red clothing and she let out a sigh. "You make me laugh when I want to cry." She smiled. "That's quite a talent nowadays with me being so hormonal."

"You're pregnant... I'm sure some other guys have had it worse before with their girlfriends, I'm pretty lucky to have you."

She smiled as she took a seat next to Danny's head. He shifted onto his back and stared up at her. "And I'm pretty lucky to have you too."

"You hungry?" Danny smiled.

"Hungry? Danny, didn't you just eat like... pizza? How can you be hungry?"

Danny paused. "You know me... always hungry. And surely my baby is the same?"

"Well, she is going to come out looking like a donut if she carries on. I'm getting sick of eating them."

Chuckling, Danny sat up and leant forwards and pressed a kiss to her forehead. "C'mon, I'll go fix us something for dinner."

Lindsay's eyes fell towards the now crumpled laundry underneath them. "Shouldn't we...?"

"Leave it." Danny dismissed the mess. "I'll sort it out later on."

She smiled and shuffled off the bed and laughed as Danny rolled backwards and landed on the floor. "I got an A in gym."

"And there was me thinking you always failed it, what with your weak and pathetic arms, torso and you know, every other aspect of your body..." Lindsay smiled as she made her way to the living room.

"Nobody asked for a smartass comment, Montana." He smirked at her.

"Nobody asked for you to state the obvious." She returned the banter. "Say something stupid, get something witty in return."

Taking a moment to himself, Danny stretched until his back popped. He watched the smile on the face, and a part of him felt proud. He hadn't done the laundry earlier. When he had seen how devastated she was; instantly the thought of him making such a mistake came to his mind. He knew that she could have gotten upset with him turning their clothes pink, but if it meant that she gained a little confidence in her hormonal self, it had been a risk he was willing to take.

And, while he was his protecting Lindsay streak... he hadn't fallen from the barstool in the pizza joint he and Flack had apparently visited. It was far from it actually. He'd been chasing a suspect through a back alley, and the douche had thrown something; just clipping his head from the speed he had been running at. They'd managed to grab him within seconds after that; but both Flack and Danny had decided that instead of worrying Lindsay, they'd form a little bit of a story just to take away from the situation. And hopefully give her a few giggles. Danny had wanted to simply tell her initially, whereas Flack had argued that what she didn't know couldn't hurt her. And although Danny was now dead against that mentality after everything that had happened between them; this was something he thought that perhaps could work well. Not letting on what had actually happened wouldn't stress Lindsay out like he thought the truth may.

"You know," Lindsay smiled over her shoulder, grabbing Danny's attention. "We've got a good thing going on here, don't we? Me and you..."

Danny smiled and picked up the pace so that he could wrap his arms around her stomach. He lowered his head and pressed a kiss to her shoulder as she continued walking, pulling him with her.

"Yeah." He agreed. "We do have a pretty good thing here."

As they reached the kitchen, Danny lifted Lindsay and placed her on the counter before moving to the fridge and he started gathering ingredients.

He glanced over to his girlfriend, who was staring at him in awe as he worked. She was absolutely right in what she said that they had a good thing together. Something that neither of them would change.

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**Thanks for reading. Any thoughts are, as ever appreciated :) **


	24. You're Still The One

**Hi Guys, Sorry it's been a while. It's been a HELLISH week for me... but if you have my LJ or Facebook, you'll see that things did a 180 today and the writer's block I had from the dramzzzz disappeared (I think... I hope...) On another note... I went to see Date Night and some of this chapter was inspired by a scene in the movie, so if you've seen it and this chapter seems familiar... that's why. P.s. if you haven't seen it... MAKE SURE YOU DO. IT'S AMAZING. /endplug.**

**This chapter is dedicated to FoxPhile; it's been a while since you actually requested this one, but I wanted to make sure I used the fabulous song for a chapter I was sure of... I hope this works and you all enjoy it. :) **

**As ever, thank you all so much for the lovely reviews and PM's. They always lift my day up. Special mention to**: DAnNSfreak, piper maru duchovny, Sweet LIL loz, rhymenocerous, NothatRose, messermonroeforever125, saderia, afrozenheart412, dl-shipper34, ZoeyBug, Wait To You See Me Smile, jennifer32485, and 18lzytwner

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**This one is set around... The Party's Over, shall we say?**

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**You're still the one – Shania Twain**

_They said, "I bet they'll never make it"; but just look at us holding on. We're still together still going strong_

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"What's their story?"

Turning as best she could in her seat, Lindsay glanced over to the couple Danny had his eyes on. She smiled for a moment or two before turning back to face her boyfriend.

"They met in High School; she was a cheerleader, he was a geek... She broke the mould, started dating him and he's absolutely smitten with her." Lindsay paused. "Came to NYU together, and now live in the city."

Danny gazed at the couple and smiled. "I can see that... how about them over there?" Danny nodded his head in a different direction.

Lindsay licked her lips. "He's cheating on his wife, but the 'mistress' has no idea. The mistress absolutely adores and worships him, and his wife won't put out..."

Danny turned and narrowed his eyes as he took in the couple Lindsay was analysing. "You think?"

"He has a wedding ring on his right hand. She doesn't. He's hoping she doesn't pick up on it being a wedding band with it being on a different hand."

Danny's eyes widened as his eyes fell on the ring on the man's right finger. He turned back to Lindsay and nodded his head, impressed with her observation. "Good eye there, babe."

"Oh yeah." She giggled. "Come on; give me someone else to make a story up for."

"Them." Danny smiled as he pointed at an elderly couple, eating their meals in companionable silence. "What's their story?"

Lindsay turned and let out a contented sigh before turning back to face Danny. "They met each other young; they were each other's first love and have never known anything different. They broke up when he went to fight in the war... He tried to break her heart by pushing her away. His reasoning was he'd rather have her suffer from a broken heart that someone else could mend; instead of her waiting for him and there being the possibility he wouldn't get to come back to her. Fast forward a few years, they get back together, and they end up having three kids..." Lindsay let out a sigh. "I think I have too much fun making up stories for people. I think I need a life... or a new hobby."

Danny chuckled. "I think it's cute." He informed her across the table. "First time you did it, I thought you were a little crazy, but hey ho... It's just something else for me to love about you."

"I think I like them the best." She smiled as she glanced over her shoulder at the elderly couple. "They give you hope, don't you think? That you can sit forty years from now in a restaurant without saying a word, but being more comfortable than you've ever felt before."

"Who says you've got to wait forty years for that?"

Lindsay offered him a shy smile.

"And you know," Danny continued. "if that isn't their story, I'm a little sad."

"I would be too." She chuckled in agreement before pausing and a small smile graced her face. "What do you think people would say about us?"

Danny laughed. "That's an interesting one..." He thought about it for a moment. "You were head cheerleader and I was the captain of the football team... What the hell did you just kick me for?"

"The bitchy popular kids? Pick a nice story for us, Dan!"

"We could have been nice." Danny reasoned before sighing. "Alright, take two." He took a moment to think. "We met in college; I chased after you for months and months but you were having none of it. You thought I was a pretty boy and I was a bit of a Frat boy."

Lindsay giggled as Danny continued.

"But really, it was all a show... You were scared because you'd never really felt like you had for me, thus pushing me away. I intimidated you."

Lindsay snorted as she took a sip of her drink. "Oh my God!! You're hilarious."

Danny jokingly cut his eyes at his girlfriend as she teased him. "So then that was that, and you eventually started falling for me – and then I hooked you in with my charm."

"Oh yeah?" Lindsay teased. "And your boyish good looks."

"Exactly!"

"What else then?"

"Well, we get a little serious – then one night in my room, you made a move and I freaked out."

"You freaked out?"

Danny nodded. "Because you're the only girl I ever loved."

Despite the fact they were in the middle of some form of game, Lindsay couldn't help the 'Aww' that left her lips. "What else?"

"Well, my friends were dicks to us, and your friends told us that we'd never last... that I'd hurt you and everything. But you overlooked everything they had to say."

"We sound like a sappy couple."

"Oh, we are." Danny chuckled as he got further into their alternate universe. "Really big on PDA and declaring our love in public."

"Oh God, I hate us." Lindsay shuddered.

"We've toned it down in as we grew up."

Lindsay smiled. "So what happened after we graduated college?"

"We broke up for a while; you went to do your own thing and I stayed in the city."

"Oh, of course... it couldn't be you moving from New York... Has to be me."

"Smartass." Danny sneered. "So; deciding my life sucked without you, I flew to Chicago and begged you to come home. You still weren't convinced, so knowing you, I let you go because I knew you'd come back to me because you and I were meant to be. I took the next flight out of Chicago, and you were on the plane right behind me, because you realised you'd made a mistake. That was four years ago, and now we're having out first baby after getting married last year in Hawaii on the beach."

Lindsay blinked. "Wow."

"We're pretty awesome, aren't we?" He said proudly.

"In your world we are... What do we do for a living?"

Danny thought for a moment. "You teach Elementary and I teach High School."

"Teachers?" Lindsay giggled. "I didn't see that one coming... What would you teach in High School?"

"Science. I'm the hot teacher on the faculty that all the Girls love and the boys look up to... I take some of the gym lessons now and then. You teach the fourth grade and I hate your colleague who works in the third grade and is constantly flirting with you..."

Lindsay didn't fight the smile on her face.

"And now, we're sat in this poky little diner in Midtown and we're deep in conversation about something, and everyone is looking at us; jealous of how much we're in love and how we've made it this far, even after everything our faces say that we've been through."

"Is that right?" Lindsay smiled.

"Yep." Danny nodded as he took her hands across the table; mindful of their empty plates. "We might have taken the long way, but we got there in the end."

"Which we? The fictional we, or the real we... or to be grammatically correct, us?"

"Us," Danny said as his thumb ran over the smooth skin of Lindsay's hand. "You're somethin' special, and I'm glad that I've got you and you're the one I love."

"Sap." Lindsay stuck her tongue out at her boyfriend.

Squeezing her hands, Danny shook his head in mock disgust. "There was me declaring my love."

"Oh please, you know you'll always be the one I belong to... You're the one I want for the rest of my life."

"Now who's being the sap?" Danny snorted.

"I can't win!!" she flailed. "I'm a sap or a mood killer."

"I just like winding you up... It keeps you on your toes."

"The toes I can't see." Lindsay grumbled.

"You can so see them." Danny said, rolling his eyes. "You're exaggerating."

Lindsay arched her brow, indicating how unimpressed she was with his comment.

"I love you." Danny cringed, flinching as he prepared himself for a quiet tirade of Lindsay's hormones in the middle of the diner. "Please don't stab me with a Spork when I sleep tonight."

"It's a good job I'm a pretty big fan of you..." She sighed dramatically. "Because I could really kick your ass you know."

"I don't doubt it for a second, honeybunch."

She let out a contented sigh. She turned and looked over her shoulder at the elderly couple that was still sat in the corner of the diner in their booth. She turned back to Danny and smiled. "Do you think we'll be like that when we're sixty?"

"Madly in love?" Danny asked.

"Well, yeah..." She shrugged. "Like... I don't know, will we still look at each other the way we do now?"

"The only thing that will change about us, Linds is that I love you more and more every day – so yeah, we will be like that when we're sixty."

"Promise?" she giggled.

"Hell, I'll pinky promise you." He teased as he let go of her hand and held out his pinky. "You can beat me if I break it."

Locking her pinky with his, she let out a laugh that caused Danny's heart to flutter. "I can't believe you willingly pinky promised me something.. Your manhood was just shot to hell."

"Nah." He smirked as he shook his head. "I don't need to prove my manhood to anyone anymore... You're already hooked and that's all that matters to me."

"It's scary how everything's worked, isn't it?" Lindsay sighed. "Like, how far we've come... I bet everyone thought that we wouldn't work."

"Well..." Danny paused. "Showed them, didn't we?"

"And if we didn't, perhaps I could wave my bump in their faces... Along with my 'Property of Danny Messer' tattoo that sits there on my forehead."

"Ha-ha." He laughed sarcastically. "You're hilarious, Montana."

"I try." She smirked as she flicked her hair.

"I'm'a pay the bill." Danny said as he stood from the table. "Be right back, k?"

She nodded and smiled as he pressed a kiss to the top of her head before heading to the counter.

She turned and looked at his back as he headed away from her. It really did shock her how far they'd come together over the years. Regardless of their back story; Lindsay knew that nothing felt right when she wasn't with him – and even in sixty years, he'd still be the one.

Her chocolate eyes fell on him as he winked at her from the counter; just a small sign of affection from across a crowded room but it just solidified everything Lindsay knew.

He'd still be the one till the day she died.

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**Thanks for reading, guys! :) **


	25. Parachute

**A/N: I think I should apologize in advance about this one. If I'm honest I don't actually know where it came from; I wrote the majority a while ago and it appears I was feeling slightly angsty about something?Maybe? Possibly? Anyway, I just wanted to stress that in this (when I re-read it at least) I tried to make this as fair as possible to all the parties involved. I hope it worked that way. I mean we all have our own opinions about a certain character, but you know, it takes two to tango and all that jazz. So, just be prewarned... And I'm sorry!! :/**

**I've spent the past few days re-reading your reviews and they really do blow me away. Thank you all so much for your lovely thoughts and all the time you've taken to send me each and every review. Although I don't get the chance to thank you all personally, I do really, really, really appreciate the boost and feedback :)**

**Special mention to:** Sweet LIL loz, FoxPhile, montanascreed, dl-shipper34, uscrocks, piper maru duchovny, Elja, webdlfan, NothatRose, jennifer32485, afrozenheart412, 18lzytwner, DAnNSfreak, rhymenocerous, Wait To You See Me Smile, iheartcsinewyork, DantanaMM & Meredith and Derek (Welcome back girls!)

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**Set around 5x16? **

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**Parachute, Cheryl Cole**

_Don't believe the things you tell yourself so late night and__, y__ou are your own worst enemy__ - y__ou'll never win the fight__. __Just hold on to me, I'll hold on to you__. __It's you and me up against the world__._

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Laid as comfortably as she possibly could, Lindsay let out a laboured sigh as she watched her boyfriend sleep. At three thirty in the morning she should have been asleep; but one scene from the previous day's events was still weighing heavily on her mind. She'd tried everything to shake the person she could see when she closed her eyes, but she just couldn't. It was too difficult. Too painful.

She knew that she was torturing herself and she was her own worst enemy. But it was just a... shock to her system and done a good job in knocking her a little. It was a harsh reality that she'd been living in some form of dream world for the past five months.

When she had walked into the bodega where little Ruben Sandoval had lost his life, the last person she'd expected to see was Rikki Sandoval.

For some reason, ever since Ruben had died, neither she nor Danny had ventured down that street. Granted it made some trips more difficult than what they needed to be; but it was just one of those things that they had to do. Him because the memories that came flooding back were still too raw for him to handle, and for her, her heartbreak still ached in her chest on a bad day.

If she was honest, she didn't even know why she'd gone into the Bodega. She hadn't had an overwhelming urge to go back to the scene and tackle an underlying issue... It had just been a random spur of the moment thing where she had stepped inside for a bottle of water and some noodles for her's and Danny's dinner that night.

What she hadn't expected was reaching for the same packet of noodles at the same time as the person who'd had a hand in breaking her heart. It was unintentional on Rikki's part, and the rational side of Lindsay knew and understood that. But the slightly less rational side of her argued that Rikki knew that Danny was with Lindsay; and she should have taken into consideration that Lindsay would have gotten hurt by their selfish actions.

Then Lindsay had to remind herself of the circumstances...

She'd felt her face pale as her eyes absorbed Rikki's appearance. The apology in regards to grabbing the same pack of noodles had fallen short in reaching Rikki's ears, and the noodles Lindsay had been holding dropped to the floor in shock. Her eyes had scanned over Rikki as silence overtook them.

It was stupid; looking her up and down, but relief was rushing through her at the woman's appearance. She wasn't pregnant. It was always something that panicked Lindsay in the back of her mind... Did they..? Was she...? Could he...? Would they...?

And Lindsay knew that Rikki's eyes were searching for answers in Lindsay's appearance. By the look in her eyes, Lindsay could tell Rikki was trying to figure out whether the baby could possibly be Danny's... Or whose baby it could be if Danny wasn't the father.

"Hey." Rikki's voice finally sounded, breaking their long and awkward silence.

Lindsay smiled and fought the anxiety that was rising within her. "Hi..."

"Here you go." Rikki smiled, handing her the packet of noodles. "This sauce goes really well with them."

Lindsay accepted the jar of Chinese style sweet and sour sauce politely. "Thanks..."

"How are you, Lindsay?"

Lindsay glanced down to her stomach and shrugged with a smile, "Busy, I guess you could say. What about you?"

"I'm okay." Rikki had shrugged as she picked up another pack of noodles and placed them in her basket. "Taking each day as it comes... I bet you and the father are excited."

Lindsay nodded. The spiteful feelings that were boiling within her wanted to make it clear that the father was Danny, but then a part of her shook off the urge to stoop to such a level. Rikki didn't need to know who the father to her baby was; and more importantly, she didn't need it to be rubbed in her face.

"Yeah." Lindsay nodded, finally finding her voice. "We are; we're really excited."

"That's nice... I'm glad." She paused. "I bet you're wondering why I'm here."

Lindsay raised her eyebrows and nodded slightly. "You could say that I guess... I know if I was in your position this wouldn't be a place I frequented."

"It isn't." Rikki shrugged. "I just... something was drawing me in. I mean ever since Ruben died..." She took a breath. "I just try to avoid this place..."

"So do Danny and I." Lindsay admitted, giving Rikki the first indication that she and Danny were at least on speaking terms.

"How's Danny doing?" Rikki inquired. "Is he okay?"

Lindsay nodded. "Yeah, he's pretty good. He had a hard time dealing with everything but he's a lot better now."

"I suppose I didn't help in that respect."

Lindsay shrugged as she shifted uncomfortably. "I'm not about to judge."

"He told you what happened then?"

"Well, he wanted to make sure I knew everything that had happened when I told him I was pregnant."

"Oh, so you and him... Ohh, right..."

"Yeah," Lindsay bit her lip, fighting hard not to let the rest of her sentence pass her lips. Her heart was racing as her mind screamed at her mouth to let the words reach Rikki's ears.

"Oh, I just... I didn't realise you two were still... together. I guess I just assumed that..."

"What? That I'd slept with somebody else? No... I don't sleep with people I don't really know to make myself feel better." As soon as the words left her lips, Lindsay regretted it. She wasn't a spiteful person; and she of all people knew exactly what it felt like to lose someone you loved. She'd dealt with similar pain that Rikki had felt, multiplied by four, and even then she couldn't imagine the pain that Rikki went through. The friends she had lost had been friends; Rikki had to cope with with the loss of her son...

But... She had inwardly sighed as she tried to suppress the spiteful voice within her again. Danny had been her's. She knew that he wasn't innocent in the act; but she couldn't help but resent the woman stood in front of her. They'd both acted selfishly in many respects. They'd completely tarnished the memory of that little boy that they'd both loved but engaging in such a destructive act together.

Lindsay swiped at her tear that escaped. "I'm sorry... I..."

"No, you know, it was wrong of me to assume that you'd do something like that. I only I know of you through Ruben, and he couldn't say enough about you. He really liked you; really wanted you and Danny to have forever together... He was idealistic and enthusiastic about everything but he was a good judge of character... I didn't mean to offend you by..." Rikki sighed. "We never really did get off on the right foot, did we?"

Lindsay shook her head. "No, not really."

"If it helps any..." Rikki trailed off. "When Danny and I.... he told me when he and I..."

Lindsay had shaken her head as she interrupted Rikki, "I get that you want to help, but honestly, I don't think I want to hear it... I'm trying to move past all of that, you know?"

Rikki had nodded in understanding. "Yeah, no; I get it. He just... He really cares about you Lindsay."

"He does now at least..." Lindsay had stated. The conversation between them pretty much fizzled out after that. Lindsay had made a point of smiling politely, wishing Rikki the best and had turned away.

And, if their conversation had stopped there, then Lindsay probably would have been able to sleep considerably well. If... But it hadn't. As she had turned, Rikki had reached Lindsay's arm to get her attention. She'd paused for a moment before asking Lindsay not to tell Danny that she'd run into her.

Which was the reason as to why Lindsay was laid, wide awake but deathly tired at three in the morning.

Why couldn't Danny know that she'd run into Rikki?

She shifted in her position as Danny shuffled towards her. She could tell he was searching for her hand to lace their fingers together while they slept, and it was confusing him that he couldn't quite get them. Her eyes quickly shut as she spied him opening his eyes.

"Babe?" His voice, thick with sleep, inquired.

Pretending to be asleep, Lindsay didn't answer.

"Lindsay?"

She fought the tears building up behind her eyelids as she continued to ignore him. Feeling him shuffling towards her, Lindsay tried to make sure she was breathing in a way that told him she was sleeping soundly.

"Baby?" Danny whispered in her ear as he trailed a finger down her cheek. "I know you're awake because you don't breathe like that when you sleep, and I've listened to you tossin' and turnin' for the past twenty minutes. If there's something on your mind..."

With her eyes still shut Lindsay silently took a breath to calm her nerves. "Did you tell me Rikki had moved away?"

"Yeah..." he drew out the syllables as his interest peaked in the topic of conversation. "Why?"

Peeling her eyes open, Lindsay swallowed as she looked into Danny's eyes despite the darkness in their bedroom. "I saw her today... In the bodega where Ruben was shot."

She expected silence from him, so when he didn't say anything it didn't come as a shock to her. She took his silence as an opportunity to continue her account. "She told me not to tell you that I'd seen her... And I only just remembered that she told you she was moving."

"She did tell me that." Danny nodded. "What else did she say to you? Are you okay? Is this why you can't sleep?"

Trying to make sense of his bombardment of questions, Lindsay began to answer the first of his three. "Obviously she was looking me up and down with me being pregnant... She wanted to know how you were... Chit chat really. I snapped a little at her though."

"You did?"

Lindsay nodded in the darkness as he laced his fingers through hers and set their intertwined hands on top of their growing child. "Yeah, she assumed that somebody other than you was the father. I think I jumped to conclusions, but... I don't know, I just hated the thought of her assuming I'd gone out and slept with someone else in spite."

"You'd never do that." Danny growled.

"I know, but..." Lindsay sighed. "It's stupid. Go to sleep, babe."

"It isn't stupid." Danny growled as he stretched to turn his bedside lamp on. He sat up in bed and wrapped his arm around Lindsay's shoulders as she sat up. "If you're worryin' about it then it isn't stupid at all... Do you want to talk to me about it?"

She narrowed her eyes for a moment as it registered what he had actually said. Offering to talk about something wasn't anything of a regular occurrence with Danny, and to hear him say such a thing filled her with reassurance.

"I just... It scares me how quickly everything I felt last year came flooding back when I saw her." Lindsay let out a breath. "I thought I was over it... But I had this feeling in my stomach that I've only ever felt last year..."

"You didn't expect to see her." Danny reasoned. "Of course everything would come flooding back. I know that if I saw her, I'd be exactly the same... All I'd be able to think about would be how I broke your heart, and how much I screwed things up between us... I don't think I'd be able to sleep either."

She peered up at her boyfriend with an inquisitive look in her eyes. "Really?"

"Definitely." He said adamantly. "No doubt about it..."

Lindsay nodded thoughtfully as she laced her fingers through Danny's. "It just... I hated the anxiety I could feel. It took me right back to the phone call in Stella's apartment when you brushed me off and I knew something wasn't right."

"I'm sorry, baby." He sighed as he pressed a kiss to her temple. "You should have told me sooner."

"I thought I'd be okay about it all." She shrugged. "I didn't realise it was going to be such a big thing until my head hit the pillow. Besides, it's not really a topic I want to bring back up..."

"I suppose if you get to thinkin' things at night sometimes you can spend all night worryin' about it."

"I know," she sighed. "It just... It upset me that she told me not to tell you that I'd seen her. Who cares if she told you that she was moving away, but moved two blocks? She shouldn't have asked me to keep that from you."

"You're right, that was wrong of her."

"And I mean, isn't that like driving a wedge in between us? I mean if you had-..."

Danny twisted in his position and cupped Lindsay's face with his hands, "Just hold on there, k? I want you to listen to me for a sec."

Lindsay let out a sigh. but nodded.

"You're right, she shouldn't have asked you to keep that secret from me, but you didn't, and even if you had, it wouldn't change the way we feel about each other. You're absolutely right; she shouldn't have asked you to keep that from me."

Lindsay nodded in agreement.

"I want you to remember something if you happen to bump into her, okay? We may have made mistakes – me more than you, but at the end of the day Linds, we've made it past all that and we're a stronger couple because of it, aren't we?"

"Yeah," she nodded as a smile tugged at her lips.

"We're the other's parachute... We catch each other when things get tough and when the other one falls. It's always been like that and it always will. Whether it's me dealin' with my Brother, you in Montana, or this... we got passed all of that together, didn't we?"

Lindsay let out a breath, giving him the chance to continue.

"This isn't an issue you need to worry about baby girl." Danny reassured her. "I don't want you gettin' stressed about this..."

"It's easier said than done though." She sighed. "I can pretend that I don't care about it, but I do, Danny."

"I know you do, sweetheart, but it's not just you I'm thinkin' of... You're looking after our baby, and worryin' about somethin' like this? It's not worth it. You know that I'm here, right?"

Lindsay nodded.

"How I feel isn't going to change. Whatever Rikki said to you is of little significance, Linds... Nothing she has to say matters to us now, you know? That was a chapter of our lives that is over. She's moved on with her life, and we've moved on with ours. It was something that crushed us when Ruben died. It was tragic. But it happened. I dunno why it did, but you know, things happen for a reason. If he hadn't have died, we wouldn't have reconnected like we did and we wouldn't be having our baby..."

"I guess." Lindsay nodded. "I just... I dunno."

"It's you and me Linds." He whispered into her temple. "I'm your parachute when you need me, k? Just like how you're mine."

She reached to where Danny still had his fingertips on her face. Linking her fingers through his, she lowered his hands and enclosed her little hands around his. "Promise?"

"Always, always." He whispered as he pressed a kiss to her temple. "Now, will you do me a favour?"

"Sure, I guess..."

"Close your eyes," he whispered in her ear. "I'm right here and I'm not goin' anywhere, k?"

Lindsay let out a sigh as she shuffled down the bed and settled on the bed. "Thanks, Dan."

"I love you, remember that for me, 'k?" He smiled as he stretched once again and turned his light off. Settling into her pillows, Lindsay found her comfy spot and let her eyes flutter shut. Just as she did, she felt two arms enclose themselves around her. She shuffled closer to him, so that her frame fit perfectly into his and let out a contented sigh.

And as she drifted off the sleep, she revelled in how he held her close and tight; wrapping her up like a parachute. Ready to catch her when she fell again.

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**So yeah, I wasn't too sure about that one, so your thoughts on how it was would be appreciated. I hope you liked it... Thanks for reading!! **


	26. It's All Coming Back to Me

**A/N: Hey all. Sorry it has been so long since I last posted/reviewed anything for those of you who write the lovely stories that never cease to entertain me... I have been suffering from some hardcore writer's block since the finale (and maybe even a little before that), hence the no bueno on updates and stuff. I've tried to beat this out of myself though, because I figured that if I broke it, ideas would come flooding back. So, this being said, if this little oneshot sucks like I feel it does, I do apologize and hang tight... I'm working on it!...**

**As a forewarning, this chapter is filled with content that doesn't quite fall into that of a T rating... so basically there's a teeny tiny M rated scene and language throughout; so just wanted to forewarn you.**

**Huge thank you to each and everyone of you who reviewed last chapter (a million years ago it seems now!), Every single one of your comments were so encouraging and supportive... So thank you. Special mention and thanks to:** piper maru duchovny, webdlfan, ZoeyBug, FoxPhile, dl-shipper34, iheartcsinewyork, DantanaMM, Anon :), rhymenocerous, ioanhoratio, NothatRose, rapidtetv, Sweet LIL loz, brendanakai, jennifer32485, saderia, 18lzytwner, TAsolo, Meredith and Derek, afrozenheart412, Wait To You See Me Smile.

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**Set sometime in season five. hah**

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**It's All Coming Back to Me Now – Celine Dion **

_But if I touch you like this, and if you kiss me like that..._

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As darkness filled her surroundings, Lindsay glanced from side to side before clearing her throat and dropping the shirt she had been folding onto her's and Danny's bed. "Very funny, Dan! Turn the lights back on babe?"

"I didn't turn them off, I thought you had."

"Babe, seriously." She called as she felt her way toward the bedroom door. "I'm not kidding, turn the lights on."

"Linds, I'm telling you, I didn't turn them off."

"Maybe the fuse went?" She suggested as the tone of Danny's cell rang through the apartment. He pressed the little green button on his BlackBerry and held it to his ear.

"Flack? Good timing you've got there; Linds and I are stood here in the darkness, wanna give me a little 411 on it?" He paused as Flack spoke down the line. "You serious?"

Lindsay pulled her iPhone from her pocket and used the LED light to guide her towards Danny.

"So what? We just sit tight?... No yeah, I appreciate you callin' buddy... Yeah I'll tell her. Keep me in the loop, pal." As Danny hung up, he reached for Lindsay's hand and pulled her towards him. "Yeah, apparently there's a black out."

"No shit." Lindsay teased. "That's brand new information, sweetheart. You're sure as hell in the right field, being a detective and all..."

"Smartass," Danny laughed as he laced their fingers together and led her to the couch. "There you go, sit."

"And do what?" She mused, "Twiddle my thumbs?"

"If it makes you happy." His tone indicated he'd said that with a smirk. "I'm gonna go get some candles and a flashlight."

Lindsay smiled up at him as she tapped the screen of her iPhone again, giving them a small bit of light between them. "Sounds like a plan, batman."

Chuckling, Danny headed off towards the kitchen and grabbed the flashlight they kept in a cabinet before heading to the bedroom to grab Lindsay's candles from the bathroom and bedroom. Within minutes he'd joined her back in the living room and was lighting the candles with the matches he'd also grabbed while he'd been in the kitchen.

"Well, not exactly what we had planned for tonight." Danny mused as he sat next to Lindsay after lighting the last candle. "But you know having absolutely nothing to do might not be so bad."

Lindsay smiled as she turned on the couch and snuggled into his side as he wrapped his arm around her. "Could you grab that blanket? I'm a little cold."

Danny stretched and grabbed the blanket that was draped over their couch. He unravelled the material before covering him and Lindsay with the worn blanket. "Better?"

"Much better." She giggled as she pressed her back into his chest and snuggled into him and pulled his arms around her. "So..."

"So..."

"What did Flack say?"

"He was just tryin' to forewarn us that it'd hit us. Lights went out at Times Square... Like he was stood at the scene and then boom. Pitch black."

"Wow," Lindsay gasped at the prospect at the sheer darkness of a place that was always so bright and busy. "Any idea why?"

"Nope, but he said if he hears anything, he'll let us know."

"That's sweet of him."

Danny chuckled. "Ever since he found out about you being pregnant, he really takes an extra second or two to think about you; like he told me to keep you sat down so you don't go stumblin' into anythin'."

"Aaaww," Lindsay smiled as she snuggled further under her blanket. "That's so thoughtful of him."

"But I lit candles." Danny added, "So we have light. That was thoughtful too, right?"

"I said it was thoughtful of him; not that I loved him and wanted to spend the rest of my life with him." Lindsay teased. "I know you think about all that stuff anyway, Dan, you don't have to worry about him upstaging you."

"Good." Danny chuckled as he reached for Lindsay's hand and laced their fingers together before resting them on the blanket. "'Cause we couldn't be having that."

"Nope," Lindsay smiled as she laid her head against Danny's chest. "I guess it could do us some good... You know? Sitting here and talking."

"Probably." Lindsay could feel him smiling against her skin as he pressed a kiss to her shoulder. "I could think of other things too."

"So could I..." Lindsay giggled. "Doesn't mean we have to do them."

"But you know..." Danny breathed against her neck as he peppered the area with kisses. "We might have a lot of time to kill."

"We might..." Lindsay closed her eyes and revelled in the sensation of Danny kissing her neck like he was. At times, she hated him. He could have her as putty in his hands within mere seconds; and she had absolutely no idea how he could do it. All it took was a kiss or two, and she was fighting the urge to pin him down.

Well, sometimes she fought the urge.

She let out a whimper, indicating weakness to Danny which gave him the courage to let go of Lindsay's hand he'd been holding, and ran his fingertips down her sides as he toyed with the hem of her shirt.

She bit her lip as his fingers ran across her belly. "You're beautiful," he whispered in her ear.

Lindsay giggled as she squirmed against him. "That tickles, and I'm pretty sure that's not what you're going for here."

Grabbing the hem of her shirt, Danny nudged Lindsay forwards and tugged it over her head. Mindful of the candles and their open flames, Danny placed the shirt on the floor of the living room before fusing his lips to her and revelling in the free reign of her neck.

Lindsay wanted to do something with her hands. Her fingertips itched to roam all over the body she'd memorised years ago, but in her position with her back to him, it was proving difficult. So to free herself of her struggles, she shoved the blanket away and moved to the other side of the couch, using the arm to prop her head as she licked her lips and subtly raised her eyebrows at Danny. With a predatory look in his eyes, he crawled the short distance towards her, and positioned himself so that he hovered above her.

"Impatient?" he implored as her fingertips went for the hem of his shirt.

"Horny." She corrected with a smile before tugging the garment in her way over his head and discarding it on the floor.

Although Lindsay was showing a little more nowadays, she was by no means showing dramatically... yet. Danny was conscious though – perhaps overly conscious of the fact that their child lay between them. It wasn't that he was hesitant as such, just a little scared of lowering himself and his body weight onto Lindsay, and hurting their baby in the process. And he was actually doing a good job of hiding his uncertainty.

Lindsay just knew him too well.

She looped her finger in his dangling Dog Tags and pulled him towards her. "I spoke to the Doctor. You can't hurt her."

"Him." He corrected her instantly in-between kisses.

"I'm not discussing this now." Lindsay informed him as he carefully placed himself so that not a fibre of his being was touching her stomach. "Danny!"

"Lindsay, I don't want to hurt her... him... the baby."

"And you won't!" She growled at him as she pulled him down. "Please Danny," she whispered against his lips.

He let out a breath and pressed a kiss to her plump lips. "What if..."

"I'll tell you." She whispered. "You started this, so finish it."

He didn't even bother to fight the smile that tugged at his lips. He sat up momentarily and tugged his wifebeater over his head and dropped it on top of his shirt that Lindsay had just freed him of. He then took the opportunity to remove Lindsay's pyjama bottoms. He made a point of hooking his finger underneath the waistband and tugged them down her legs; his fingertips grazing the whole of her thigh as he did so.

Arching into Danny, his ministrations were killing her. He knew all of her buttons to press; he knew where to kiss; he even knew what to whisper.

And she knew he hadn't even started yet.

"Dan, please." She cried.

"All in good time, sweetheart." He smirked as he removed his jeans and underwear.

"All in good time me later," Lindsay growled against his lips. "How about you satisfy me now..."

"That I can do." He smirked in the candlelight of the room before giving Lindsay what she so desperately wanted. He took his time in sliding into her, giving her the chance to mould herself around him.

"Promise me you'll tell me if I'm hurtin' you."

"You're killing the mood." Lindsay informed him. "Stop worrying."

"But..."

"I'll tell you." She growled.

"I just... I love her and I don't want to hurt her."

"Or him." Lindsay giggled as she drew him closer by wrapping her arms around his neck.

Ignoring Lindsay's smartass remark, Danny began slow as he found his confidence. They'd made love in the few months that Lindsay had been pregnant but lately things were becoming more real, and making him a little more nervous. Lindsay though was still making the same noises that never failed to spur him on; she was pressing kisses to the same areas, and she was drawing him in with her hips... and soon, the anxiety he'd felt before disappeared.

"Montana... I-..."

He was promptly cut off by his shrill cell phone, vibrating and screaming against the table.

"Leave it," Lindsay pleaded.

"It could be Flack."

"It hurts me deep that you'd give Flack priority right now."

Pressing a kiss to her forehead, Danny stretched and grabbed his cell phone and looked at the caller ID. "It's Mac!"

"Answer it." Lindsay rasped.

"I can't! I left it too lon... fuck... he hung up."

"Well, now he's going to be pissed... having to call twice."

"Maybe he'll call someone else." Danny panted as he tossed his phone onto the floor.

"Or maybe you'll be the one shifting through the crap in the dumpster."

"Oh fuck me!" Danny whined at the prospect.

"I'm trying to!"

Smirking at his witty girlfriend, Danny lowered his lips and met her's in a soft kiss. That soft kiss soon deepened, leaving them both short for air. Just as they were regaining their rhythm together, Danny's cell phone began screaming the same tune.

Breathless, Danny grabbed his phone and spluttered into the mouth piece. "Mac, hey?... "He paused as he listened to Mac at the other end of the line. "I'm actually in the middle of something right now..."

"Literally." Lindsay smirked as she scraped her nails down his back and buried her head in the nape of his neck as she pressed lingering kisses to the area.

"Yeah... in the middle of a blackout..." Danny managed to rasp out before nudging Lindsay's head away from him, effectively stopping the kisses. "Lindsay and I are tied up with something and..." Lindsay's forehead creased as Danny paled in the candlelight of the room.

"Yes sir," he muttered. "Will do." The conversation then promptly ended and Danny chucked his phone to the loveseat that sat on the opposite side of the room, a stream of expletives leaving his potty mouth as he did so.

"Whoa!" Lindsay cried. "Danny, what the..."

Rolling back on his heels, Danny stood from the couch and began to gather his clothing, muttering how much he hated his life, job and the city of New York. Lindsay observed her boyfriend for a moment or two as he dressed his bottom half. Once he'd buttoned his trousers, she grabbed his hand and turned his so that she was looking up at him. "What's the matter, baby?"

"Nothin'." He mumbled.

"Nothing?" she smiled, despite feeling a little disheartened that their love making wasn't going to materialise properly like she hoped it was going to. "It doesn't seem like nothing."

"What I do in my own time is my fuckin' own business." He growled as he tugged his wifebeater over his head with quite a significant amount of force. "What did he want me to say? Ten minutes Mac, I'm just having candlelight sex with Lindsay right now; can you call back in fifteen minutes?"

"Fifteen minutes?" Lindsay smirked.

He whipped her with his shirt before letting the smirk that was tugging at his lips flash itself at her. "Perhaps I was being a little critical on myself, an hour..."

"You wish!" she giggled as she leant up towards him as he leant down to her, meeting in a soft kiss.

"You're mean."

"I know." She smiled. "Did he say something to you?"

Danny shrugged as he sat next to her and covered his feet with his socks. "Just that he didn't want to know what you and I were engagin' in and there were limits that we need to have a conversation about..."

"To be fair, what else could we have been doing in the middle of a black out?"

"I could show you." Danny whispered as he nudged her backwards in her previous position of being propped up by the arm of the couch.

"You could also get your ass kicked." She giggled in his ear as he placed kisses to her neck. "We'll press pause on this, carry on when you get back?"

"I could be gone for hours," Danny sighed.

"Well, I have plenty of things I can be doing."

"Like what?" he laughed incredulously as he grabbed his wallet and keys that had fallen from his jeans pocket.

"Wouldn't you like to know?" Lindsay smirked as she patted his cheek. "Perhaps I'll text you when you're at work; make the night go a little quicker."

"You're gonna be the death of me; you know that right?"

Lindsay merely winked at him as she grabbed her top and pulled it over her head.

"You gonna wear a bra with that?" Danny pressed as he ran his fingers through his hair.

"Does it look like I'm gonna wear one?"

Picking up his phone, Danny glanced at the time.

"Don't even think about weighing up whether or not you have time."

"I already went there." He smirked. "What you gonna do 'bout it?"

"Nothing," she smirked as she stood from the couch and grabbed her pyjama bottoms. "I'll make you some coffee."

Standing on her tiptoes, Lindsay pressed a kiss to his cheek before heading out of the room with a spring in her step.

The way she'd trailed her fingertips down his cheek and the way she kissed him drove him wild... and then in the next second, she could do something as thoughtful as fixing him some coffee and sending him on his way.

He took a moment as his brow furrowed at the prospect of Lindsay making him some coffee... in the middle of a blackout. "LINDS!"

"I know..." she called from the kitchen. "I'm a moron. I forgot... Power's out. No coffee. Sorry honey."

He took a few short strides to where she leant against the wall and laced his fingertips around her back as he pulled her close. "I love you."

"I know, I love you too."

"And I'm sorry..." he gestured between the two of them. "You know..."

"What, you've gone over all shy? You're sorry you couldn't finish screwing me? It's okay."

"See, now I was under the impression we were making love."

"What are you?" she implored. "A girl?"

"I'm going." He teased with a glint in his eye. "Be careful, k?"

"Be careful? Babe... I'm going to bed; I can't get more careful there."

"Well, it depends on what you're doing."

"Nothing that requires your assistance."

"That hurt me."

"Good." She smirked. "Call me when you get to the scene, okay?"

"And tell you what; I didn't get scared in the dark?"

"Whatever you want to tell me... I just want to know that you're there..."

"Bullshit. You want to know how shitty Mac is with me."

Lindsay blushed a little as she opened up the apartment door. "Am I that see through?"

"Yeah-ha!" Danny exclaimed as he pressed a kiss to her cheek. "If you go to bed, blow the candles out, but take one to the bedroom so you can see."

"I'm not stupid, baby." Lindsay reminded him. "But I will... now go before Mac kills you. I really don't want to work tonight."

"Oh, ever the comic."

"One tries." She smiled. "The quicker you leave, the quicker you'll be home."

Danny smiled and resisted the urge to make another smartass comment that would have them bantering for another ten minutes.

"Bye babe." He smiled; just as he turned to head out the door, Lindsay grabbed his hand and pulled him towards her. Her lips fused to his lightly, making his entire body tingle and sent his mind spinning with the sensations.

When she finally pulled away, she smiled. "Bye baby."

As he shut the door behind him, he let out a long, laboured breath as he prepared himself for an evening of work. As he headed to the stairwell he mused that no matter how she touched him, or how she kissed him, she stirred feelings in him – feelings that he hoped and prayed he'd feel for the rest of his life.

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**Thanks for reading guys, I hope the ways I struggled with this weren't as visible as what I feel they are. And for the record,**** I don't know what on earth would happen if there was to be a black out in NYC - I tried to talk very little about it and used a creative license for the little I did - so if any of you do know, and I was way out, I do apologize. **

**Thanks for reading. I'd really appreciate your thoughts and comments :) **


	27. Never Say Never

**A/N: Well, not to be too premature, but maybe... just maybe I have managed to break my writer's block. YAY! :) For now at least. **

**This chapter here is dedicated to Lisa as she suggested the song to me months and months ago. It is however a subject I've tried to research as best as I could; so I do hope you bare with me till the very end as I tried really hard to make sure it was all accurate. Anyhow, this being said, if I am a little off, I am sorry. I did try to make sure everything was how it should be. :) **

**Thank you to everyone who reviewed last chapter. Your kind words were just lovely. :) Special mention to:** Dine89, dl-shipper34, piper maru duchovny, unlikelyRLshipper, NothatRose, messermonroeforever125, ZoeyBug, rhymenocerous, iheartcsinewyork, rapidtetv, afrozenheart412, saderia and 18lzytwner.

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**As usual, set sometime in season five. **

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**Never Say Never – The Fray. **

_Picture you're the queen of everything; as far as the eye can see. Under your command, I will be your guardian. When all is crumbling, I will steady your hand._

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"Hey babe," Danny smiled as he answered his phone.

"Danny, I need you to come home."

"Why? What's the matter?" Danny questioned, puzzled as he leant back on his knees as he knelt next to a DOA at the latest scene he was at.

"Danny, something doesn't feel right... The baby... There's something not... right."

"What do you mean?" he pressed as he stood and began pacing. "What do you mean something's not... right?"

"I don't know," Lindsay cried, her fears being showcased in her voice. "I'm scared, Dan..."

"Look, it's alright..." Danny reassured her as he dragged his fingers through his hair as he looked around at the concerned eyes gazing at him as he paced. "Have you called the Doctor?"

"No, you were the first person I called."

"Okay, I'm coming to get you and we're gonna go to the Doctor, okay baby? It'll be fine, whatever it is..."

"I'm scared though," she whispered.

"I know baby, I know... I'm on my way home right now..." Danny looked to Mac with pleading eyes. Mac instantly nodded and held his pinky and forefinger to the side of his face, asking for Danny to call him as soon as they heard something.

"How far away are you?"

"I'll be..." he felt a bundle of keys hit his back as he retreated from the scene. He turned quickly and saw Mac nodding down to the keys and waving him away, indicating for him to take the Avalanche to get home quicker.

"Danny...?"

"I've got the Avalanche babe... I'll be like ten minutes, okay?"

"Please hurry." She cried. "I'm really scared, Danny."

"I know you are, sweetheart. I'll be there as soon as I can. Remember... call the Doctor, and I'll be there before you know it, I promise."

"Okay..." Lindsay sniffled down the line before hanging up.

Running a hand down his face to take a moment to compose himself, he let out a long, laboured breath... hoping to God that whatever was wrong with Lindsay was nothing serious.

He ran out the doors of the apartment building and looked up and down the street. Cursing loudly and the standstill traffic both up and down the street; he took a deep breath. New York traffic was the bane of his existence on a good day... and there was no way in the world it was going to slow him down in getting to Lindsay.

Throwing his messenger bag into the back, Danny ran around the vehicle and rammed the key into the ignition. As soon as the engine had fired up, the lights and sirens were on – a ploy Danny was hoping was going to budge traffic; but as he began to edge into traffic, he realised no one seemed to be going anywhere.

He glanced around him desperately, trying to find something that was going to give him the opportunity to get home. Lindsay was waiting for him and she was scared out of her wits. She needed him... urgently and there was no way he was going to let her down. He'd said ten minutes... hell, he'd promised her ten minutes – and he was going to damn well keep his promise.

Glancing at the sidewalk, Danny took a deep breath as he turned the wheel roughly and edged his foot on the accelerator as he mounted the sidewalk. He knew he was probably breaking a million traffic laws, but he couldn't have cared less as he made his way to the end of the street and pulled out into slow moving traffic. He held his hand on the horn, desperate for the idiots on the road to move from his way. Within seconds, traffic began to budge and Danny was able to skilfully make his way through the sea of cars as he made his way to their apartment.

He was trying really hard not to think about what could be happening, because the last thing Lindsay needed was him to get there and be an absolute wreck. She needed someone to protect her and to support her. She needed a hero to swoop in and save the day – and he was going to damn well try to be that guy she needed.

But his overactive mind couldn't help but think what if...

He physically shook his head as he ridded the images and scenarios from his mind. Yes, it was every expectant parent's nightmare for something wrong to happen, but he had refused to let himself think about such things. He couldn't – just to protect his sanity he couldn't.

He felt his phone vibrating in his pocket and he raised himself from the seat and grabbed the phone and pressed it to his ear, keeping it there with his shoulder as he continued to make his way through the traffic. "Linds?" he breathed down the phone. "What did the Doctor say?"

"Not to worry," she sniffled down the line, "But he said to take me to the hospital just in case."

"The hospital? Fuck!" Danny cried. "What did he say? Are you going to be okay? What about the baby Linds?"

"Well, I told him I've been having cramps and he..."

"Cramps?" Danny cried down the line. "Linds, why didn't you say?"

"Well, I just... I don't know... I've had contractions too."

"How long are they apart?" Danny asked, desperately trying to keep his cool for a panicked Lindsay.

"Well they're really irregular and I just thought nothing of it, but Danny, I'm just... they keep happening and I'm scared that there's something wrong."

"Alright," he breathed, trying to regain his composure. "I'm like five minutes away from the apartment building, can you make your way down the stairs... Don't take the elevator babe, okay? I know it's a lot of stairs, and I'll meet you half way, but I don't want you in that fuckin' stupid elevator."

"Danny, don't curse!"

"Linds, just... Do as I'm askin', k?"

"Alright..." she trailed off. "Danny, is everything going to be okay? I'm not going to..."

"No Linds," he whispered as he took the phone, "You're not going to lose the baby, sweetheart. It's probably nothing, okay? Try not to panic, babe."

He could hear Lindsay taking a deep breath on the other end. "Should I bring anything?"

"Just you," Danny guessed. "The hospital'll be able to work things out."

"But if there's something wrong, they'll need my details to know..." She stopped and let out a deep breath. "Danny, I'm freaking out."

"Linds, listen to me... Listening?"

"Dan..."

"Lindsay! Listen to me, okay?"

He could hear her whimpers on the other end of the line.

"Listening?"

"Mhmmm..."

"Okay, there's probably nothing wrong here, okay? It could just be something really little. We'll go to the hospital and just make sure, k? You're healthy and the baby has been healthy at every ultrasound... Heck, he or she always moves around so much we can't narrow the sex down... There's nothing wrong with our baby, okay?"

"I hope you're right."

"I have a feeling I am." He assured her down the line. "I'm comin' in to get you, alright babe? I'll be two seconds."

He hung up the phone as he shoved the car's gears into Neutral and jumped out of the car quicker than he had before in his life. He took the stairs leading to his and Lindsay's apartment three at a time, desperate to just get to her.

Bustling through the third floor, Danny carefully made his way around the corner without even slowing just in time to see Lindsay locking their front door.

"Oh baby..." he whispered as his eyes fell on her tear stained cheeks. "Come here."

"Let's just go," she sniffled as he wrapped his arm around her shoulders. "I don't want to be any longer than we have to."

"Wait one second," Danny whispered as he pulled her into him; mindful of her protruding belly. "Baby, it's going to be okay." He whispered as he pressed a kiss to her forehead. "I'm'a look after you two, and I'm gonna make sure we leave that hospital with the both of you safe, k?"

She nodded against his chest. "I'm sorry I called you out of work."

"Sorry? Linds, the dude is dead! He doesn't give a shit if I'm there or not... he ain't going anywhere."

"But..."

"Lindsay, my priority is you and our baby. If something isn't right here, where the hell else would I be?"

"Here, I hope," she whispered.

"Exactly." He smiled reassuringly. "C'mon, s'go... Give me your hand."

Lacing her fingers through his, she let out a breath. "I feel all shaky, Danny... I think I've stressed myself out."

"It's alright, I'll keep you steady." He promised as they made their way down the hallway.

They soon fell into silence together as they made their way down the stairs, both lost in their own thoughts; praying that everything would be fine.

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"I feel so silly," she sighed as she tightened her grip around Danny's hand.

"Silly? Baby... you didn't know what the hell was going on." Danny reminded her. "Anything could have been happenin'... You did exactly what you thought was best."

"But still..."

"But nothin' babe... That's what I'm here for... I'm here to hold your hand when things seem to be crumbin'... I'm here to protect you."

"I know that." She assured him. "I just don't know how I didn't think that what I was feeling was Braxton Hicks."

"Well, it's been a while since you've had a spare second to read the books you insisted on reading... you weren't to know, babe."

"But... I just; I should have known."

"Maybe," Danny shrugged. "But you know, it's not the end of the world... At least we know that we're a pretty good team in an emergency."

"Well, yeah." Lindsay blushed. "But still, I feel silly."

"Linds, he said that he's seen so many expectant mothers in the exact same state as you were... and fathers that have been worse than me... I mean it even happened to Rachel on Friends; she had Braxton Hicks contractions... so you're not the only one here."

"I just... When he asked me what I'd done today I thought he was going to say I'd done too much and needed to be on bed rest, or... I don't know – my mind was working overtime. I didn't think he was going to tell me that carrying the groceries had triggered it, and I should have just lain down for five minutes."

"Next time we'll know though... And what has this told you?"

"Not to freak the heck out over nothing."

"No." Danny smiled at her as he pulled her into his side. "To take it easy... You can't be carryin' handfuls of groceries anymore."

"Danny, I still have three months left, I can't not do things like carrying groceries."

"Carryin' the groceries is the husband's job, Linds..." As soon as he had said it, his eyes closed and Lindsay's eyes shot up to his face. "Boyfriend... Carryin' the groceries is the boyfriend's job." He corrected with hurt in his voice, almost.

"Danny." She whispered as they approached the Avalanche. "Dan..."

"It was just a slip of the tongue, Linds." He defended himself as he helped her into the passenger seat. "I know you're not there yet and I'm okay with it... It was just a slip of the tongue. I promise."

Taking his hands, Lindsay turned in the passenger seat so that Danny could stand in between her legs. "I know how much you want us to get married Danny, and I swear, I do want to marry you... I just, I still don't feel it's the right time. It's not me trying to diffuse you asking me, because that isn't the case... I just, I want to make sure we're doing it for the right reasons."

"I know that baby. I understood that before."

"Understood?"

"I just... it worries me how close we've gotten over your pregnancy. I mean, I feel now that nothing could break us; and we both love each other a hell of a lot. I know for sure that you're the person I want to spend the rest of my life with, and I guess it just worries me that you're still not sure, you know?"

"It's not that at all." She shook her head. "I know for an absolute fact that you're the person I'm going to spend the rest of my life with, Dan. I know that, and you know that. I just... I don't want to rush into a marriage. I know I gave you an ultimatum to begin with and you were either in the baby's life, or you weren't... and I don't want you to regret that decision."

"Regret it?" Danny gasped, astounded. "Lindsay, does everything I've done today suggest I have an ounce of doubt in me?"

"Well... no, but."

"So don't insult me in thinking that I would ever, ever doubt the choice I made."

Letting out a sigh, Lindsay squeezed Danny's hands lovingly. "I don't doubt the choice you made for exactly why you just said... the way you look after me and the baby shows to me how dedicated you are and I love you for it Danny, I really do... I just... Never say never. It isn't a matter of us getting married, it's just when."

"Tell you what," Danny sighed. "I'm gonna take you back to the apartment, run you a bath and let you relax for a while... I gotta head back to work and stuff, but we'll talk about this later, okay?"

"Okay," she said, her fingers sliding away from his. "Just remember... never say never, okay? I just need a little bit more time."

Nodding, Danny pressed a kiss to the tip of her nose. Lindsay then turned and settled in her seat, letting Danny close the passenger door.

And as he made his way around the Avalanche, he let out a breath. "Never say never."

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**Thanks for reading. Any thoughts are hugely appreciated :) **


	28. My Life Would Suck Without You

**A/N: Hi all, another update for you guys here! :) This one is based on a movie I recently watched. It's called The Stepfather, for any of you who may know it. If you don't, not to worry... it's not a huge thing. Just for the main character, think Shane Casey-esque... a complete and utter nutcase that happens to be really good in pretending he's normal. **

**As always, a huge thank you to my wonderful reviewers. You guys really did make my day brighter!** dl-shipper34, Dine89, Aveo amacus, webdlfan, ZoeyBug, Wait To You See Me Smile, jennifer3285, piper maru duchovny, Sweet LIL loz, rapidtetv, unlikelyRLshipper, brendanakai, iheartcsinewyork, afrozenheart412 and 18lzytwner. **You guys are stars! :) **

******I hope you all enjoy reading this one as much as I enjoyed writing it! :)**  


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**My Life Would Suck Without You – Kelly Clarkson**

_Maybe I was wrong for tryin' to pick a fight__, __I know that I've got issues; but you're pretty messed up too__ - e__ither way, I found out I'm nothing without you__. __'Cause we belong together now... Forever united here somehow__... Y__ou got a piece of me__... a__nd honestly,__ m__y life would suck without you__._

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"Oh shit!" Lindsay cried as she ducked behind the pillow once again.

"Linds, it's only a movie... we saw worse today at work."

"Which leaves me unsure as to why you INSISTED on watching this horrific movie." She cried from her cowering position.

"Linds, you know they're gonna realise he's a psycho."

"It worries me they haven't already figured it out... All the signs are there."

"Babe, they're not trained CSI's... and the majority of them know anyway."

"She doesn't!" Lindsay cried as her arm flailed at the screen. "What is she? A moron? Stupid?"

"No babe, they just haven't gotten to that stage of the script yet."

"She needs to hurry up and get on the same page then." Lindsay cried as she tucked herself into the cushion she was clutching. "Danny!"

"Linds, it's nothing."

"Danny! It's a fucking storm, it's obviously something. Someone's going to die!"

"What makes you say that?"

"Because, you don't just have a thunder and lightning storm in a horror movie for shits and giggles, Danny."

"It's a thriller babe, and FYI the thunder and lightning add to its effect, so sometimes they can be..."

"Shut the fuck up!" she cried as she buried her head into his chest as they lay on their bed together. "Oh fuck, she's dead."

"Montana!" Danny smirked with wide eyes. "Your potty mouth tonight... it's enough to make my mother blush."

"I'm terrified; I tend to curse when I'm scared out of my wits."

"Like that time where I..."

She grabbed his hand and dug her nails into his skin. "You finish that, I will hurt you."

"Like the time where I took you to that Haunted House over Halloween... You cursed up a good ol' storm there. Made me blush... never mind my mother."

"We had just worked that Amityville case, Danny. I was already spooked about old houses and psycho ex residents."

"The old woman didn't know what to do with herself."

"She shouldn't have... Holy mother of... Crap!"

Danny laughed as Lindsay flung herself into his chest at the sight of the evil main character stood behind his next victim.

"Lindsay Monroe, your inability to withstand a simple thriller astounds me."

"Shut up!" She cried; her voice muffled by the sounds of his bare chest as she pressed her lips against his toned stomach. "I hate you for renting this."

"It's a good movie, babe."

"I swear I'm going to die."

"We all will someday." He teased her lightly as she squirmed on the bed.

"No stupid, I mean I'm going to die from a heart attack watching this. I don't see why we couldn't have watched something less... terrifying. The poor baby! This isn't good for my blood pressure, Danny."

"Lindsay, it's a movie. It's pretend. They're actors."

"SO?" She cried. "They're damn good actors!"

"And I didn't realise I was in love with a freakin' cry baby."

"Holy crap!" Lindsay cried. "If you ever, EVER sneak up on me when I suspect you of being a mass murderer, I will kill you before you have the chance to kill me. Understood?"

"... You do realise you just said if you ever suspect me of being a mass murderer?..."

"Yes." She nodded as she peeked out from behind her fingertips that were shielding her eyes. "Oh my God, I'm going to pass out."

"Lindsay, this isn't even the 'scary' scene." Danny air quoted with his fingers.

"You've seen this before?"

"Yeah," Danny chuckled. "I went with Flack and Adam to see it when it came out at the movies. Adam nearly pissed himself." Danny recalled.

"Why the fuck are we watching this then?" She growled as she smacked him over the head with the decorative cushion she had been clutching for dear life. "Do you want me to give birth early?"

Shaking his head, Danny reached for the DVD remote before pointing it at the screen and stopping the movie. He then reached for the TV remote and turned the TV off.

"Better?"

Lindsay sighed. "Well now I want to know what happens... is it scary?"

"Scary for a normal person? Not really... jumpy more than anything. Scary for you? It'd probably send you into a coma."

"Jerk!" Lindsay smirked as she smacked his arm. "Baby... baby please can you go get me a drink."

"Hell no." He teased her, "I ain't gettin' out of bed. I'd be watching the movie still if it wasn't for you bein' such a cry baby."

"But I'm scared," she sniffled sadly.

Danny chuckled. "So?"

"But what if someone is in the apartment?"

"Make sure he knows that there's nothing of value."

"I hate you."

"You're confused. You actually love me; the terror is just clouding your feelings."

"You're a real jerk, Daniel. Do you know that?"

"Oooh. You first named me. I am in the shit." He smiled as he pressed a kiss to her temple. "What do you want babe?"

"Doesn't matter. I'll get it myself." Lindsay huffed as she pushed herself out of their bed. "But just think... if I get murdered... I hope you feel guilty for the rest of your life."

"Oh baby, you say the sweetest things."

"Fuck you."

"If you carry on babe, the baby is going to be saying 'fuck' in the delivery room."

"Well if YOU carry on, you won't have to worry because you won't be there."

Realising he'd pushed maybe a little too far going off Lindsay's tone, Danny let her leave the room in silence to go fetch her drink.

Letting out a deep, calming breath as she made her way through the living room, Lindsay scrambled as she flicked the light on, illuminating the small room with bright lights. Any intruders that could be present would have been caught in the spotlights of the room; and Lindsay had yet to spy any.

She let out a breath as she padded through the quiet apartment and as soon as she got to the kitchen, she flicked the light on and let out a breath of relief as she saw all of their carving knives in their rightful place.

She had issues. She mused to herself as she pulled open the refrigerator door and grabbed a bottle of vitamin water. Danny sent her stir crazy and made her question her sanity when he had her watching ridiculous thriller movies... Who in their right mind would be in their apartment, waiting with a carving knife?

She took a sip of her drink and capped the lid on the bottle before turning on her heel and wrapping her dressing gown around her a little more. She switched the light off in the kitchen as she began her retreat back to the bedroom.

She made a conscious effort not to step on the creaky and loose floorboards that were a pain in the ass, so when one creaked she thought nothing of it and made a bigger effort to manoeuvre herself around the wooden floors. Glancing around the room, Lindsay felt happy that there was no one hiding and just as she flicked off the switch in the living room, she heard and _felt_ another creak.

"Danny?" Lindsay whispered in their quiet apartment. "Dan? Dan is that you?"

Silence.

"Danny?" she raised her voice a little more, trying to mask the utter terror she thought would be evident in her voice. "Danny... Please don't be messing around. Wait, please let it be you."

She swallowed as she held to the bottle of water; the plastic crunching in her vice grip as she tiptoed to her bedroom. She felt her heart leap into her throat as she heard another creak. Stopping dead in her tracks, Lindsay sent up a silent prayer; hoping to God that it was her overactive imagination being extremely cruel.

Finally, her tough cop mode kicked in and she brushed off any potential threat. She had just walked through the apartment and had clearly seen that it was clear of any psychos, mass murderers, or zombies for that matter.

She was crazy; and she was no longer watching scary movies. Period.

"What-cha-doing?" A voice sounded from the darkness.

Screaming, Lindsay launched the water bottle she had been clutching in her hand at her attacker's head. Her hand went for the light and she prepared herself for the worst.

Until she saw Danny rubbing his forehead.

"ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME?" She bellowed at her boyfriend as her fist connected with his chest. "Are you serious? I could have killed you!"

"Oh yeah, in your pregnant state?" He smirked. "Please."

"I'm serious, you jerk!" She whimpered. "Just you feel my heart," she growled as she grabbed his hand and held it to her chest. "You did that!"

"I make your heart race all the time," he smirked at her.

"I know you do!" She growled. "Usually for all the right reasons though... I swear to God Danny... Wasn't I terrified enough? Did you need to just push me over the edge?"

He had only been winding her up and teasing her, but he could tell from the way her chest was heaving she was genuinely freaked out. He tugged her, closing the short distance between them and wrapped his arms around her. "I'm sorry babe. I didn't mean to _scare you_, scare you... I just wanted to freak you out a little... maybe get a scream or two..."

"Well you got that," she whimpered as she snuggled into his arms. "Jerk."

"You have some serious issues." He teased her lightly after a few moments of silence.

"Scaring me to death? I'd say you're pretty messed up too, Danny-boy." She looked up at him through batted eyelashes.

"I might be messed up, but you love me... and you can't imagine life without me, right."

"Some days I question that." She growled. "Pick me up my water." She demanded. "And not a word about how I threw it at you, kapish?"

"You know we belong together," he teased as he handed her the water bottle and pressed a kiss to her temple. "As much as you dislike me right now, you know for a fact that your life would suck without me."

Sighing as she made her way into their bedroom after Danny she relented. "I guess..."

"You don't just guess." He smirked. "You know that your life would suck without me."

Flashing him a dirty look as she climbed into bed, she fought the smile on her face. She took her water bottle, uncapped the lid and took a drink before turning to face Danny. "You wanna watch the rest of the movie?" she smiled.

"Serious?"

"So long as you promise to protect me..." She pleaded.

His answer wasn't verbal; he grabbed hold of the remotes and turned the TV and DVD player back on. He searched the disk for their scene. He then shifted in his position and turned his lamp on. Finally, he turned, settled in his space on the bed and opened his arms for her to snuggle into him.

"Ready?" he whispered, armed with his finger hovering over the play button on the DVD remote.

Lindsay took a deep breath.

"Ready..."

Lindsay couldn't help but let her mind wander as she watched the latest scene unfold in front of her. They were dysfunctional; but in the same respect, they didn't function without the other. It was what worked so perfectly for them; the fact that they were opposites that had managed to somehow attract astounded her.

She cast her eyes up to his face and watched as his eyes failed to blink while watching the movie. If enduring two hours of terror for him gave her the chance to lie in his arms as he protected her; it maybe wasn't as bad as she first thought.

"You better close your eyes." His demand brought her from her thoughts.

"Why?"

"Close them."

"But w-... SHIT!" Lindsay cried as she buried her head into his chest. "Danny!"

"I told you babe." He chuckled. "C'mon, this bit is hilarious."

And as she cowered in his arms; she got her final answer... life without Danny Messer would most definitely suck.

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**Thanks for reading. Any thoughts are appreciated! :**)


	29. Need You Now

**A/N: I am coming out of hiding to go straight back in afterwards. As you all know I was struggling with writer's block. And well, I broke it... but... yeah. Please don't prod me with sporks or pitchforks yet. It'll make me sad :( **

**Huge thank you to each and every one of you that read or read and reviewed last chapter. I'm glad you all agree on the scary movies front (I actually watched another tonight, but we won't discuss that...) **

**Special mention to: **NothatRose, Sweet LIL loz, brendanakai, dl-shipper34, piper maru duchovny, iheartcsinewyork, Jupitor's-Cowgirl, saderia, Wait To You See Me Smile, Dine89, ZoeyBug, unlikelyRLshipper, afrozenheart412, 18lzytwner, rapidtetv, and bluelilyrose.

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**Need You Now - Lady Antebellum**

_It's a quarter after one, I'm a little drunk and I need you now. I said I wouldn't call but I lost all control and I need you now._

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_

Peeling open her puffy and tired eyes, Lindsay glanced at the clock before picking up her screaming cell phone. Wanting to ensure that it wasn't anyone at work requesting her presence with them, she looked at the picture of the caller and fought the tears as her eyes absorbed the goofy grin, smiling at her.

There was no way on this earth that she was going to answer the phone to him. None whatsoever.

She slammed the phone back on her bedside table and let another almighty sob take over her person as his words replayed themselves in her head. She knew that he was scared... but she was scared too, and he knew that. It broke her heart as she really thought about what he'd said to her. He'd either been living a lie for the past six months, or alternatively he was pushing her away because he'd realised he'd let her get too close to him and he was battling with feelings he hadn't felt before.

Either way, he'd done a fantastic job of shattering her recently mended heart.

Her phone lit up again, vibrating against the wood of her bedside table, before her ringtone began blaring once again. The clock now read 1:00 am. He had to be out of his damn mind if he thought she was going to answer his call.

Her train of thoughts paused for a moment. What if he needed her?

"No!" she verbally growled at herself. He had made his feelings clear. He didn't deserve the time of day... did he?

She closed her eyes and turned over on her cushions that were cold. Although the cool sheets soothed her skin, the bed linens smelt of him and her heart arched because of it. She should have been tucked into his side, his hand pressed against her stomach on the off chance the baby kicked. They both had a night off together and such as was a rarity. She kept trying to tell herself that everything happened for a reason, but she was struggling as to see the silver lining to this particular black cloud.

Letting out a laboured breath, she slowly began to drift to a restless sleep once again until she could hear the vibrating, indicating the beginnings of a phone call.

Cursing, she grabbed her phone, slid her finger across the bottom of the screen and held her iPhone to her ear. "I'm not interested in ANYTHING you have to say to me, Daniel. Leave me alone."

"But Linds..."

"Leave. Me. Alone." She growled down the line.

"Lindsay, listen..."

She knew her message wasn't getting through to him, so she took a deep breath closed her eyes and disconnected the call. She placed her phone on the bedside table for what she hoped would be the last time and turned over in her previous position. She laid for what seemed like a second before her phone began vibrating again.

"You'll get the message eventually." She sighed, exasperated with his antics.

She waited for the tune to finish and let out a breath as she settled into the pillow, ready to resume trying to fall asleep... After a few minutes she could finally feel her eyes fluttering shut and she was beginning to drift off into a dreamless sleep; until her message tone rang out into the room.

She reached behind her and grabbed her phone, laying it down in front of her as the message told her that she'd received a new voicemail.

Closing her eyes for a moment, she relived the conversation she and Danny had shared not hours previous as she mentally prepared herself for whatever he had to say.

* * *

"_What do you mean?" Lindsay whispered with tears filling her eyes as she disregarded the meal that sat in front of her. "Responsibility? What responsibility Danny?"_

"_The responsibility," he growled at her. "The responsibility of lookin' after a kid, Linds... it's a hell of a lot."_

"_Danny, you're not going to be doing it yourself. I'm here too."_

"_There's still the responsibility, Lindsay."_

"_I don't understand."She pushed for an explanation with raised eyebrows. "I'm a little unsure of why you're bringing this up now... Did it all of a sudden click that we're not just playing happy families for the fun of it?" _

"_I didn't say that." He reminded her. "What I'm saying is that I don't know whether I'm in a place right now where I can deal with that responsibility of you relyin' on me. What if I can't provide what you and the kid needs?"_

"_The kid?" Lindsay whispered, her voice doing no favours in hiding her emotions. "Danny, this kid is our baby." She pointed out to him. "The kid is our child. Our baby, Danny... Ours... A person we've made together; he or she is so much more than just a kid." _

"_I get that, Lindsay but I don't think you understand." Danny sighed as he ran his fingers through his hair. "I feel trapped Linds. I feel trapped here with you. I feel trapped with the responsibility and just... I don't know, it's hard to explain what I'm feelin'."_

_She sat back in her chair as she felt the wind being knocked from her, as someone twisted a knife into her chest at the same time. She blinked once, twice, three times as she tried to figure out whether or not he was playing some wicked and horrid joke on her. A part of her prayed that was in fact the case, but the majority told her that everything he was saying was true... and he was far from joking. _

"_Trapped?" she whispered. "I gave you the choice, Danny. I said for you to make the decision whether or not you wanted to be in his or her life. You told me that you wanted me to give you the chance you deserved and I did that. Now you're saying I pressured you into this and I've trapped you?" _

"_I just..." Danny let out an exasperated breath. "I'm not financially stable to support you and a baby, Linds. You heard what Adam said a while back, it costs over a hundred grand to raise a child."_

"_And?" Lindsay implored. "It's not an upfront payment, Danny. We're not that bad in regards to money. You're talking crap." _

"_I'm not Linds, and it's pissin' you off because you know I'm right about this."_

"_Right about what? The fact that I trapped you in a relationship?" she air quoted with venom in her voice. "Sorry Danny, but this was your choice; I gave you the freedom to pick what type of life you wanted and you chose this. I didn't trap you into anything. Hell, back then I didn't even want to be in a relationship with you! You insisted!"_

_"That's a goddamn lie!" _

_"You're sure about that?" Lindsay countered._

_Sitting back on his chair, Danny let out a breath. He took her hand across the table and ran his thumb over her smooth skin. "Look Linds, I love you."_

"_But..."_

"_But is me loving you and you loving me going to be enough to build a life on?"_

"_We'll never know if we don't try." _

"_This is the rest of our lives though, Lindsay." He pointed out to her. "We can't be fucking around."_

"_It's not me that fucks around!" she bellowed at him. "What are you getting at here, Danny? Man up and tell me what it is you're meaning instead of beating around the bush with your bullshit excuses... What is it that's really on your mind?"_

"_This isn't what I saw for my life, Linds... I love you... I know that, and you know that," He whispered. "I just... I don't know; sometimes it feels like..." he paused and shook his head, "You know what, forget it."_

"_No," she growled, determined to ride this discussion out. "No you tell me what you were going to say."_

"_No..." Danny said as he shook his head. "I've said enough as it is."_

"_No, you tell me what you were going to say. Sometimes it feels like what, Danny?"_

"_Lindsay, drop it." _

"_Drop it? Drop it?" she implored. "After you've said that you're not sure whether loving me is enough to build the rest of our lives on, and you're not sure whether you want the responsibility of providing for your son or daughter? Drop it?" She snorted. "Try again... what were you going to say?"_

"_Lindsay, just drop it, okay? I don't want to say anythin' else that's gonna hurt you."_

"_Hurt me?" She snorted. "Please Danny, nothing you could do or say could hurt me more than what I am now, so just go on... tell me exactly what you're thinking."_

"_No."_

"_Let me guess," Lindsay narrowed her eyes. "You're harbouring all those feelings about Ruben and all that bullshit. When I saw Rikki a few weeks back; it made you remember everything that happened and you've realised how fucked up your life was not too long ago. Ruben was in the care of you and something happened to him. I know exactly what you're thinking." She continued. "You're convinced that something along the way will happen to our baby and you couldn't and don't want to deal with pain on the same spectrum as what you felt when you lost Ruben."_

"_Lindsay, leave it." Danny growled. "Because you don't want to hear it... Trust me."_

"_See though," she pushed. "I do... I want to know exactly what you're feeling... Or is it because I'm right?" she questioned. "Is it that I'm exactly dead on the nail and you're pissed that I know you so well?"_

_She could see his reserve unravelling under her questioning and bombardment of supposed facts. She knew that if she pushed his buttons just right, he'd snap and give her what she wanted. _

_She just wasn't sure whether she wanted to hear it. _

"_Man up, Danny." She dared him._

"_Lindsay, stop pushing me... I'm just in one of them moods, k? Leave me alone and I'll apologise later when I've calmed down... I'm sayin' things I don't mean and I don't want to be pushed too far, k?"_

"_Man up." She whispered as her heart raced. She knew that she didn't want to hear what he had to say because she knew it'd break her in two... but something had taken over her and was determined to push Danny to the brink of admittance in what he was keeping from her. "Or can you not even give me that?"_

"_Give you what?"_

"_The bit of respect I deserve. I deserve for you to tell me what's on your mind, Danny." _

"_Oh, you do?" he growled. "Alright then, I feel like you did it to get me back... there! I said it. I feel sometimes that you got pregnant so that you and I would get back together."_

_She blinked at him as the words registered. Had he really just said what she thought he said? She pinched herself, hoping and praying to wake from her night terror, but it was no use. Rage was filling up inside of her and before she knew it, the hand that had just pinched her own arm was cracking Danny across the cheek. "I think you should go." She finally whispered with a tone so low that he questioned whether he'd even heard her. _

"_Lindsay..." He was grasping at straws as he rubbed his stinging cheek._

"_You need to go." She spat as he chest heaved. "Go." _

"_Lindsay, no... Look, I..."_

_Instead of repeating herself, Lindsay merely stood from the table and walked away. She curled up into a ball on their bed and waited for noise. She hoped that she'd hear the bedroom door open as he came to apologise, but instead she felt her heart sink. She heard the front door open, close and then... silence._

_

* * *

_

As the tears spilled from her cheeks at her recall of the conversation, she glanced down to her dimly lit phone. Pressing her finger against the screen, she took a deep breath before playing her voicemail message from Danny. She tentatively held it to her ear, with no idea of what to expect from him. She hoped he was going to give her an apology, but by no means was she going to hold her breath.

'_Linds, I've... I've made... made a huge mistake.'_ He began down the line, tripping over his words as he tried to express his regret. _'I never meant what I said to you. Stress has just gotten to me, but I know that's no excuse at all. I know what I said hurt you and that's why you're so mad with me. I'm mad with me too. I can't believe I said what I did_.' She could tell from his voice that he had been drinking; his words were slurred a little and he was beginning to ramble. _'And I mean, what the hell was I thinkin'? Of course I want this baby with you... our baby. I'm just scared you know? It's a hell of a lot of responsibility, bein' a Daddy... an'... I just...'_ she heard him sigh as he tried to capture the right words to express what he was feeling. _'I just sometimes wonder whether you should just be with someone else who wouldn't fuck yours and our baby's life up like I know I'm going to...'_

"You're not going to fuck up." She whispered down the line at the recorded voicemail message.

'_And I know you probably think I won't, but babe, I will... Look at the shit I've pulled tonight; you don't deserve this. I know you didn't fall pregnant to get me back, that was a load of bullshit and I just said it to hurt you because... well, I don't know why I said it... I just... looking back what I said didn't even make sense... None of it makes any sense to me, and that's why I'm freakin' out. So much is changing, and so much has changed that I don't know how to deal with everythin'. I know it isn't true. You fell pregnant because the both of us let our emotions get the better of us that night and we stopped thinking. What I said to you was spiteful and malicious. I don't for one second think that you... I mean, it's fuckin' nearly impossible for you to have done that and I cannot believe I even said those words. I mean... what the fuck was I thinking?'_

"I don't know," Lindsay whispered as she swiped at a tear as she remembered the hurtful words.

'_I mean they say that everythin' happens for a reason, and I genuinely think that our baby was one of the best things to ever happen. I promise babe, I am excited for the baby. I promise. I love him or her with all my heart already... I just... I freaked out, and I know that it isn't fair that I can say and do all what I did and walk away from you.'_ He let out a breath from his long train of thought. _'I did enough of that when you told me about you being pregnant, and it was absolutely wrong of me to do it all over again when you've told me time and time again how scared you are that I'll do it all over again. I guess I took your weakness and used it to my advantage.'_

She listened to the recorded message, waiting for him to continue.

"_I guess you know by now that I'm a little drunk and I really need you right now, but I also know that I don't deserve a second of your time. I just... I just wanted to call and tell you I'm sorry... I mean I get that no words can really justify what I said and did tonight. No sorry is gonna fix how much I've hurt you, and I do get that... I do... It's just... I got to thinkin' and I guess the old me took over for a minute or two and just embezzled itself into my brain and just... I don't know. I really don't. I just... You don't know how sorry I am, and how pissed I am that I treated you like that. I'm gonna crash at Flack's tonight, he left the spare key on top of his door frame and he's at Jess' so you don't gotta deal with me, k? I'm sorry baby, and I hope we can talk tomorrow but you know.. It's your call, babe. I'm sorry Linds; I'm sorry baby...and I... I...'_

She held onto the end of the conversation, hoping and praying he'd whisper two or even three words down the line. Her heart began to race as she heard him fighting with hanging up or saying what she hoped he wanted to say. In a matter of seconds though, her hopes were crushed as she heard him end the call. She let out a sigh as she stared at her phone in the darkness of the room. She was still hurt by everything that had left his mouth, and an apology over the phone wasn't going to fix what he said to her, because they were things that had really, really hurt her. What he had said to her were things that she knew would stay with her forever now; the damage was done. Even if he had been wrapped up in the moment and her pushing him had led him to what he said, it was still on his mind enough for him to speak it. He'd told her that she'd fallen pregnant to get him back... and she didn't know what he wanted her to do with that.

She had honestly never, ever suffered and endured so much heartbreak with one person. He had left her confused time and time again... She gave people two chances; and then that was it, and as much as she desperately wanted to just call it a day with him and end it there and then – she couldn't. She really wanted him there with her. And it infuriated her, because he actually didn't deserve her time, effort or tears, and she knew that. She also knew that she loved him and walking away would be a lot harder than just forgiving him.

She loved him, but she didn't have to like him at the same time.

Letting out a breath, Lindsay ran her fingertips through her messy hair. He did one hell of a good job of testing her sanity... of that she was certain.

She picked her phone up and contemplated calling him. It was around a quarter after one, and she knew that he'd still have his phone on him on the off chance she returned his call.

It just... it seemed silly having him sleep in Flack's apartment across town when he could come back home and they could talk about everything. She wanted to know whether he truly believed in everything he'd said or whether he had said it to gain a reaction. She was unsure. She knew what she _thought_, but she also knew how Danny used to be. It worried her that as much as he had changed, it would be quite easy for him to change back to who he was before.

A part of her screamed that he wanted to be there but another part of her told her that everything he'd said was something he'd meant whether it was in the moment or for spite, and regardless of whether he needed her or not, it was something that had really hit her hard.

Her fingertips slid to her stomach and she laid her hand on top of her belly, letting her hand feel the motions of her child moving inside of her. She knew she had to make a decision that was a decision she would be able to live with. She closed her eyes as she pictured her son or daughter's face as she explained to them why they didn't see their father... Then, those images were replaced by a happy, smiling face – Danny's happy smiling face as he chased after their child in the park.

And she knew which scenario she preferred.

Taking a deep breath, Lindsay dialled Danny's number and pressed the phone to her ear as she tried to suppress the butterflies within her stomach.

She knew she should be a lot stronger, and hold her own against Danny in everything he had done and said to her, but there would be time for that; that much she was sure of.

"Lindsay?"

His voice broke her internal thoughts.

"Where are you?"

"Flack's... Linds, listen... I'm so sorry. I-"

"Stay there." She instructed before hanging up and climbing out of bed.

Hopefully, she wasn't making one hell of a mistake.

* * *

******I know that we didn't see anything remotely similar to this on the show and believe me, I argued with myself all day today whether or not to post this, but I figured suck it up and take a leap with it (even though it killed me!) If I spent that much time in it, I must have thought it was half worth sharing with you guys.** Next chapter will explain a little more and they will have that much needed conversation but my thinking is with this one is that we didn't really see Danny freak out as such, except for a mini snippets of scenes, and just, we all know him, and well, I don't know, I guess I thought this was a possibility for some unbeknown psychotic reason... You guys know me, things will get fixed. I promise! And where there is angst, fluff usually follows. :)

**P.s. Did I mention I was sorry? Because I am. :( **


	30. Broken Strings

**A/N: Well, what can I say other than thank you to all of you who shared their views of last chapter with me. I really appreciated everything each and every one of you said! And I'm working on doubt issues I appear to have! LOL. **

**As usual, a special mention to: **rhymenocerous, dantana, NothatRose, brendanakai, FoxPhile, Dine89, afrozenheart412, rapidtetv, ZoeyBug, bluelilyrose, Crys, jennifer32485, Jupitor's-Cowgirl, unlikelyRLshipper and 18lzytwner

* * *

**Broken Strings – James Morrison ft. Nelly Furtardo. **

_But you've broke me, and now I can't feel anything. Oh it tears me up. I tried to hold on but it hurts too much. I tried to forgive but it's not enough, to make it all okay..._

_

* * *

_

He was pacing. He was panicking.

He didn't know what the hell was going on. What had Lindsay meant when she'd told him to stay at Flack's? Had she lost her mind and was intending on coming over? Or was she telling him to stay there as in, 'stay there and stay out of my life, you waste of space'? ... He couldn't be sure.

Of course, if he hadn't have had the fourth, fifth and sixth Jack Daniels and coke, he would have probably been able to work it out, but it appeared that making good choices wasn't on his agenda tonight.

He ran his fingers through his extremely messy hair as he sat back on Flack's couch. He had no idea what the hell he was thinking when he'd exploded earlier. The things he'd said were things that hadn't even gone through his mind until they passed his lips.

The alcohol had done a sufficient job in clouding his memory, but he was pretty positive he had said something along the lines of Lindsay had gone behind his back and gotten pregnant to keep him in a relationship with her. He could remember spilling his feelings to her over the voicemail message he'd left and as it registered. He just couldn't believe he had willingly destroyed everything they'd built up over the past few months. Why? Why did he insist on screwing them up? She had always treated him with the respect and love that she thought he deserved – and what did he give her in return other than shit? His answer was not a lot of anything if he was perfectly honest.

And now what? He mused... she was going to make her way across the city to give him a piece of her mind? To try and work things out between them? He knew for a fact it shouldn't be like that. It needed to be him crawling back to her; straightening things out and making sure she was okay... making things better.

She could push him away and send him packing and he knew that he ran that risk. However, sitting in Flack's apartment wasn't achieving him anything.

Taking a deep breath, he shoved his feet back into his converse that he'd only just removed and grabbed the key from the coffee table.

* * *

She was going to go. She had convinced herself. In order to save what little they may have had left, she needed to. But as soon as she reached the living room and spied their untouched dinner plates, sat on their dining room table, she'd lost all the reasons she'd had. So instead she'd sat on the couch, curled herself into a ball the best she could, and cried.

She should have known that this would have happened. She had prepped herself up at the beginning of her pregnancy that it was possible for Danny to say the things he'd said. She had tried to assure herself that he wouldn't leave, but she'd been wrong. Very, very wrong.

The one time she hadn't put a guard around herself; was the one time she actually needed it.

Lindsay didn't know what broke her heart more, the fact that he'd proved her subconscious correct, or what she had wanted to believe was wrong. She didn't know what to think. Was it worth fighting for? Or was it time to throw in the towel... she really didn't know. A part of her hoped that Danny would use his initiative and make his way to their apartment, apologise and make everything better; but she also knew from the time in her relationship that sorry was slowly beginning to mean less and less to her.

She didn't want to; but maybe... just maybe it was time to...

Her thoughts were cut short from the sounds of a banging on her apartment door.

"Linds... Linds, please let me in. I know you're still home. I can see the light on. Lindsay..."

She let out a small breath of comfort and reassurance. While she had been thinking it, he was doing it. He was on his way to mend what he had broken... she hoped.

"Go away, Danny." She called out despite herself. "No one's home."

"Don't be so ridiculous, Lindsay. We need to talk, so let me in."

"You walked out." She roared from where she sat on the couch, wondering why in the world she was saying the things she was. "Walk right on in. I'm not getting up."

She could hear him growling on the other side of the door and thought that he was going about this 'apology' in all the wrong ways if this was how he thought he was going to make this up to her. Maybe standing her ground and giving him a hard time wasn't such a bad idea after all.

Finally after a few minutes of fumbling, she heard a key being slid into the lock of the door and in stumbled Danny. Throwing his things down on the floor, he shut the door behind him carefully and locked it.

"Oh so you did remember your key then?"

He grunted in response as he put the pile of his belongings away, including his coat, shoes and bag.

"Whatever." Lindsay sighed as she snuggled into a pillow a little more. "Why don't you just fuck off back to Flack's?"

"I thought you were comin' over."

"Well, I changed my mind."

"Oh..." Danny sighed as he stood awkwardly in the living room. "Well, I thought I'd come on over."

"Apparently." Lindsay stated. "Are you waiting for an invitation to sit down? This is your apartment after all."

"It's our apartment, Lindsay."

"No Danny," she said, shaking her head. "It's yours. I just live here."

"It's ours. It's Danny and Lindsay on the tenancy agreement, Lindsay."

"Well, it was yours before... look," she paused, "that isn't the problem here."

He tentatively moved further into the living room and let out a sigh as he seated himself next to Lindsay on the couch.

The couple then fell silent for an extended period of time, with neither knowing where to begin; or where to end this thing between them. They'd had their fair share of fights beforehand, but these fights had been all or nothing. There was the Rikkigate scandal; and that had left them both in tatters and shreds, leaving them with nothing. Then there was when they found out Lindsay's pregnancy; and that fight had led to them putting their all into their relationship. Never before had one of them walked away before getting in a last word and leaving it there. They'd always said everything they'd needed to and that had been that. This time was different; neither of them knew where it was they needed to start in discussing their issues that had materialised from nowhere.

It was Lindsay who eventually broke the silence as she shuffled towards him on the couch. "How dare you," She whispered.

"Linds..."

She ignored him and smacked him in the chest before curling her fingers into a fist and then punched his shoulder, over and over as she let out her pent up emotions. "Why?" She finally sobbed. "Why? Why did you have to it? Why did you say all what you did? Why?"

"I don't know." He whispered. "I... I'm scared, Linds. I'm in this relationship pretty deep and it scares me..."

Lindsay sniffed and wiped her eyes with her fingertips. "You wanted to marry me. What if I had said yes, what then? Would you have still walked out? Would it have been as easy to leave me as your wife, or fiancée? Mother of your child aside of course..."

"No." Danny growled, "And probably because I wouldn't feel so insecure in the relationship."

"Oh what? Back up." She snorted. "Three hours ago you were trapped and pressured into the relationship and now you're insecure? Either you have the wrong definition of insecure; Danny... or you don't know what the fuck you're talking about."

"You're right; I don't know what the fuck I'm talking about." Danny admitted. "I don't know what I'm supposed to be feeling. The woman I adore doesn't want to marry me..."

"You know why that is," Lindsay whispered. "And that isn't fair. That just isn't fair Danny, I told you why and you said you were okay with that. You have me so confused right now I don't even know how to unscramble everything you've thrown at me tonight. What are you trying to say to me, Danny?"

"Well, you... I'm sick of waiting, Lindsay. I'm scared that you're slowly changing your mind, and that's why you keep putting it off."

"Changing my mind? Danny... you told me that you're here right now because I trapped you by getting pregnant. What kind of a convincing argument is that for me to marry you?"

"I don't know... I just, I want us to be a family, Linds."

"You're talking crap... and you're definitely not going about it in the right way to get what you want."

Danny hiccupped and tried to mask his actions as a cough.

"How many did you have to drink tonight?" She sighed heavily, slowly losing her patience with him.

"A few."

"Why?"

"Why? Why what? Why did I have a few drinks? Why the fuck not?"

Lindsay let out a puff of air. "You're unbelievable. What were you thinking, Danny?"

"I was thinking I'd rather numb myself and try to forget everything I said compared to actually dealing with something head on."

"So drinking yourself into a drunken stupor solves things like they solved everything last time, right?"

"What last time?"

"Are you telling me you fucked Rikki Sandoval when you were completely sober?"

"You promised you'd never bring that back up." Danny whispered, the hurt displayed in his voice.

"Oh well, when I was told I only got pregnant to keep you in a relationship, I guess I forgot about that meaningless promise for a minute or two." Lindsay shrugged. "Hurts, doesn't it? Being reminded of your mistakes... Having things thrown in your face..."

"What do you mean by that?" Danny snapped before he sighed heavily. "Forget it... You know what the deal is about that, Linds. You know that I'll regret that for the rest of my life."

"So will I." She whispered. "You've really, really hurt me Danny. I don't think you realise how much you really have hurt me."

He hung his head in silence.

"Why don't you know how you're supposed to be feeling?" She continued. "What's the matter with being happy with the way things are? Why can't you be content for once in your god damn life? Why can't you just accept that we're happy? Why do you have to create angst in this relationship Danny? It's always you! Always! It's never good enough with just how things are."

"Always, Linds?" Danny commented with a raised eyebrow. "You sure about that?"

"If you're talking about me testifying in Montana, then that was a completely different thing, Danny."

"You broke my heart!" Danny cried. "Shattered it. You have no idea how I felt when I realised you had stood me up, Lindsay. None. When you told me you couldn't be with me Lindsay... You saw what it did to me, but you have no idea how much it hurt."

"I don't? Well, how about I cheat on you then, and then you can compare the two to see which is worse." She sneered. "Look Danny, I'm no angel in this relationship, and I'm not saying I am... But I didn't choose to leave. I had to; do you really think that had I told you when I was sixteen I watched my friends being murdered you would have been half interested in me?"

"It genuinely offends me that you think otherwise." Danny said sadly. "That you don't think that I didn't love you that much to overlook all of that."

"You didn't love me," She said with a shake of her head. "You didn't love me until you'd lost me."

"That's bullshit."

"Oh it is?" She snorted. "Okay, sure."

"You really think that?" he asked.

"Yeah." She nodded. "Honestly... I do."

"Well, you're wrong." Danny shrugged. "Whether you believe me or not is a different issue, but it's the truth; you're wrong. I have loved you for one hell of a long time, Lindsay, and you can't hold it against me that I was just scared."

"I can't hold it against you? Do you honestly think that I'm not going to hold what you said against you?"

"I'm not sayin' that... I know what I said is going to be something you remember for the rest of your life and it'll probably come up in countless arguments, and it's something else to add to my list of fuck ups, but this is me, Lindsay. You know that I fuck up, but you also know that I love you; I'd die for you Lindsay, I'd take a bullet to keep you safe."

"Let's not get all sentimental here." She growled, still not feeling convinced that Danny had apologised sufficiently for all that he'd said. "I don't doubt that you'd do anything to protect me, but Danny, that doesn't take away from what you've said."

"Linds, I'm really tryin' here... My head's pounding and..."

"An alcohol induced headache is not my problem Danny, that's your own stupid fault."

"I didn't say it wasn't my fault. I'm a fucking idiot and I know that, but..." he pinched the bridge of his nose. "Do we have any Tylenol?"

"Yeah in the kitchen... where it always is."

Danny let out a sigh as he stood and padded into the kitchen. She could hear him opening the kitchen cupboards to retrieve a glass and the tablets he needed. She could see him in a mirror's reflection; he was leaning against the counter rubbing his face, trying to come up with something to convince her how he was sorry. At least, that's what she hoped.

She turned as she watched him throw the tablets into his mouth and downed the glass of water. He settled the glass in the sink before pushing off the counter and making his way back into the living room. "Look Linds, I'm sorry babe." He began as he sat on the couch next to her.

"I don't think you understand Danny, you've broken me now to the point where I'm struggling to feel anything. Don't you see? I really feel that if something doesn't change, this is it; sorry isn't going to fix it this time."

Danny ran his fingers through his hair, fighting to try and find something to say to defend himself; something to make the situation he had created somewhat better.

"Love is giving someone the power to destroy you, but trusting them not to. I trusted you, Danny. And not just once; you've destroyed me before and I gave you another chance, and you've done this... How much more do you want me to take?"

"I don't know, babe. I'm sorry; you really have no idea how sorry I am. If I could take it all back, I would."

"Don't you see though, Dan? You've said that so many times it's losing its merit. I'm beginning to not care, and the minute that happens, something has to give... Because if it doesn't I'd prefer for our child to have a life without a Dad, than to give her one only to take him away... If she only sees you in a slotted schedule type fixture, then it's gonna be that way period. No chopping and changing as we try to make sense of a fucked up relationship. It's not going to work like that."

"I know, and that's the last thing I want, Lindsay." Danny convinced her adamantly. "I don't want a schedule to tell me when I can see my son or daughter. I want it all, and I'm going to do everything in my power to change. You saw how I changed before, Linds. You know the true person I am now; not the one you've seen tonight. You know me, Linds. And it kills me that you're on the brink of callin' it quits, because it's me that's done it... I can only promise you that I'm gonna be the man you need. I just need my last chance."

"You promised me that before, Dan, and you slipped up and went back to your old ways. I can't deal with that every six months; you freak out and storm out. It's not healthy for our relationship, let alone anything else."

"And that's something I need to work on." Danny nodded, "But Linds, you have to give me a shot here, I mean, I've made a hell of a personality change, and it's really hard for me to you know... adjust to this responsibility. I can't wait for the baby to get here, and you know that... I just, I'm scared shitless because I know I have to get this right the first time. I can't fuck up with her, or him... And that's the last thing I want is to screw up."

"So leaving me, the mother of your child, is how you deal with that responsibility adjustment?" Lindsay questioned.

"I... I just. I went around everything in the wrong way."

"Yeah." She nodded as she split the syllables of the word. "No kidding."

Silence fell between the couple, leaving Lindsay agitated. She wanted him to give her more. She wanted him to try a lot harder. She wanted him to want to save them.

"I might not be everything you want, Danny... But I'm so much more than you deserve." Lindsay concluded confidently. "This baby and I... we'll be fine without you. And it scares you because you know that."

Danny merely maintained his silence.

"Anything you want to say?" She questioned.

"What do you want me to say, Linds?"

"I really think you need to go," she whispered finally, the silence breaking her composure she'd managed to grip onto until now.

"What? Linds... Wait. If it's everything I'm not saying then I can step it up... I just, I know you don't want to hear all the promises and stuff I've given you before. I want to show you how sorry I am... Don't make me leave... Don't finish us, babe."

"Not permanently..." She interrupted and assured him; trying not to let the tears fall. "I just need some time... away from you. I appreciate you saying that you want to show me how sorry you are, but right now I can't deal with that." She paused. "If you want me to go I can.."

"You're stayin' here. You two aren't goin' anywhere..." He growled. "I just... Linds, I'm..."

"I know." She nodded. "Just right now, you being sorry... it's just not enough to fix this... this thing between us. I need time. Hell, you need time, Danny."

"Are we... We're not...? Fuck. "

"We're not throwing in the towel." Lindsay assured him. "This isn't it... It's just, I need to process everything. We need to... I don't know. We need to..."

"Fuck up like we usually do, break each other's hearts and then one of these day's we'll realise that we really do need to stop fucking around?"

"I guess." Lindsay shrugged. "I'm sorry I can't forgive you right now."

Danny leaned across the couch and pressed a kiss to her soft lips; it was a kiss filled with longing and hurt on her part, and a kiss filled with sorrow and regret on his.

"Where are you going to go?" she choked as he eventually stood.

"I'm gonna go back to Flack's tonight and my mother's tomorrow."

Lindsay nodded as a tear slipped down her cheek.

"I can call when I get there... We can talk?"

"Probably best if you didn't. Just text me to tell me you got there."

"I can do that." He said with a laboured sigh. "Lindsay, I'm sorry."

"Me too." She whispered as she wrapped her arms around a cushion on the couch.

He leant down and pressed a kiss to her forehead. "I'll lock it, but come dead bolt it, k?"

"Okay," she nodded as he swiped a tear away for her.

She followed him to the door in silence and watched as he picked his bag and jacket up and shoved his feet into his converse.

"Do me a favour Linds," His raspy voice pleaded as he opened the door and made his way out into the hallway. She nodded once he was facing her. "You know how you said you were losing the feeling... Strugglin' in feeling anything?"

She nodded.

"Get the feeling back, k? Because I can't lose you... I just... I can't. Not now, not ever. I need you. Please, get it back."

She swallowed as she closed the door and leant her forehead against the wood. She listened to him lock the door, and then in response, she dead bolted it. Listening, Lindsay could hear his footsteps as they headed down the hallway and she finally let out a sigh, and four words she'd been dying to share with him were finally released.

"The feeling never left." She whispered.

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**I guess that wasn't the ending some of you expected? Or maybe it was. I feel that there's more of this story to tell as opposed to me wrapping it up in just two chapters. But like I said before, everything will get fixed, and I have the chapter written already where there is light at the end of the tunnel... it's just some of my own blanks I need to fill in before we get there. **

**Any thoughts are appreciated. I hope you all liked it! - And most importantly, thanks for reading! :) **


	31. The Man I Want To Be

**A/N: So I only had the intention of reading over this chapter tonight (because I was going to review reply in the morning...) but apparently the muse was not feeling that plan of action. You guys benefit from an update though. I have to mention my **Meggie.** I think you'll smile when you see where I've set it. See. I do listen! :)**

**As well, thank you to all of you who reviewed last chapter (or replied to my review reply.) I have no excuse about not replying after this chapter other than I am a lazy cupcake. (And Extreme Makeover: Home Edition was an epic two hours this afternoon on CMT where the family didn't even know their house was getting renovated... So priorities and all of that... :P) Enough of my excuses though. All of your kind words are the reason why this update is up so quickly. Fred (the muse... he's a boy so when bad things happen, we can blame him!) loves all the attention and the praise of doing a good job. So thank you! :)**

**This one is by no means as angsty as the two prior to it... So you can put away the waterproof mascara and the box of Kleenex for now, **NothatRose**! ;) **

**Special thank you and huggles to:** Christina5139, saderia, Crys, afrozenheart412, NothatRose, rapidtetv, brendanakai, The-Kiwi-CSI, FoxPhile, unlikelyRLshipper, ZoeyBug, Dine89, Jupitor's-Cowgirl, bluelilyrose, jennifer32485 and 18lzytwner :)

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**The Man I Want To Be – Chris Young **

_If there's any way for her and me to make another start, could you see what you could do to put some love back in her heart? 'Cause it's gonna to take a miracle after all I've done to really make her see..._

_

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_

He let out a deep breath as he set himself facing the door, waiting, hoping and praying she'd walk in. He'd left her with a note and a text message, but he figured that he was the last person she wanted to spend her allocated lunch break with. She wanted time away from him to gather her thoughts, and although it'd been two days since they'd last talked, there hadn't been enough time for her to process everything that happened between them. He knew that.

Didn't mean he couldn't try though, right?

He sighed as he pushed his Subway sandwich away from him, deciding that he wasn't all that hungry for it right now. For a moment he sat and watched the other people in the packed sandwich store.

He was about to do something so Lindsay, but he just couldn't help it.

He looked over to a man sat in the corner of the store. The man looked nervous and was fumbling with something that sat, protected, in his hand. It appeared that he too was waiting for someone. Danny let out a breath as he toyed with the pen that he was clutching in his hand. His eyes turned and watched as someone made their way into the restaurant and sat opposite the guy that Danny had been watching.

Danny's first initial thought was that it was a father and son duo, having a conversation about something, but something about the body language told him differently. The younger of the two offered whatever he had been playing with across the table, and by doing so, allowed Danny to finally see that the thing was actually an engagement ring. It clicked. He was asking permission to marry the older gentleman's daughter.

In a subway sandwich shop no less.

Danny let out a sigh and instantly averted his eyes from the scene. That was what he should have done. Yes, he'd called and gotten permission, but he hadn't done it properly.

But what had he done properly in his relationship with Lindsay?

Finally, with the pen he had been clutching, Danny let the nib scrape across the pad of yellow legal paper he'd snagged from the office.

_Baby, _He began his letter.

_They say actions speak louder than words; and hopefully in combining the two they may just stand out a little more. I'm not the most eloquent of speakers, and right now I don't know what to say, but I figure writing it down may be a whole lot easier. After all, there's a reason why we have witnesses write down their account, right? _

_The thing is; I want to change. I do. I want to be the guy you need. I've spent our entire relationship getting things wrong, and I know that you've put up with so much shit from me. I just, I love you Lindsay; so much, and I don't want to give up on us. I can't be without you. Period. I just can't do it. I can't function; we saw it when you went to Montana, we saw it when Ruben died, and we're __seeing it now. _

_When you have really loved somebody and they really loved you back, you always have those memories. You can look back and smile because while it didn't last forever, for a time it was perfect and they made you part of who you are and will have that part of you forever... The thing is, Lindsay, I don't want to look back on our relationship. I want you to be my forever; not just a part of it. _

_I'm down here on my knees Lindsay. I'm begging for another chance __- i__f there's any chance at all... I'm sorry for all that I said. I was wrong, so unbelievably wrong. I know that late night talks are cheap, Montana. I do. And I know that a letter won't mend everything I did. But I'm hoping and praying you still believe that I can be the guy you want. The guy you need. I know that you and our baby would be okay without me, and you were right; it does kill me. I've spent my entire life getting things wrong, but I really want to start fresh with her, or him, and show you – just you – how I can be the man I want to be. __I know I can be the guy you want me to be. I just need one more chance, Lindsay._

_I love you, babe._

_D. _

He read the letter twice over after he finished. He then folded it a number of times into a square and simply let it sit there for a moment as he sat with baited breath, wondering if Lindsay would walk through the doors. He reached for his sandwich and just as his fingers made contact with the plastic bag, he saw her. On the surface she wasn't a little girl from Montana anymore; not really. She oozed New York. Her confidence had skyrocketed and she just blended into the crowd now as a typical New Yorker on the go; but as his eyes met her's, he could see the twinkle in her eyes that no New Yorker had.

To him, she'd always be his Montana.

He waved his fingers to get her attention as she entered the store. Flashing him a small smile of acknowledgment she turned to order her sandwich, giving Danny time to sit and think. The letter he'd just written was sat on the table, and with every second he stared at it, his heart raced.

"What's that?"

"Hmm?" He looked up to Lindsay standing over him with a small smile on her face. "What's what?"

"That piece of paper?"

"Oh this?" Danny picked up the letter he'd just written, glad that he'd already shoved the pad of paper back into his bag. "It's just some... It doesn't matter." He said as he shoved it into his inside pocket of his leather jacket. "You got the usual?" Danny questioned as he watched Lindsay unravel her sandwich.

"Yeah." She smiled excitedly and patted her stomach. "We've been waiting for this all day!"

"Mr. Subway must regret saying you two can have whatever you want when you walk in." Danny teased. "Jalapeños and pepperoni with meatball marinara sauce, accompanied with peppers and onions. Ew, Linds... Just, ew."

"Actually, they tell me and her that we can eat fresh... and anyway, it's like pizza." Lindsay growled playfully. "You would live off pizza if I let you."

"Jalapeños? They don't deserve to be on anything, Linds. If she comes out craving them, I'm blaming it on you."

"Oh and every single sandwich meat Subway have with Doritos on there to finish off belong together?" Lindsay peered at his sandwich.

"It's wide known fact that chips and a sandwich go together. They give it the crunch that lettuce just fails to do sometimes."

She snorted.

"Changing the subject..." he smirked. "How's your case going?"

"I know you didn't ask me to go to lunch to talk about my case, Danny."

"I just... I wanted to see you. I miss you."

"It's going okay. Yours?"

"Fine. It's keeping me busy to say the least." He paused, "Lindsay, I miss you."

"You've caught a double Danny. You just said you were busy, so you wouldn't be home even if we weren't in the middle of a break." She had, in a round-a-bout way ignored his attempt to tug on her heartstrings.

"We're on a break?" He jumped a little in his seat before leaning forward. "You didn't tell me that Lindsay. I don't want to be on a break. I thought we were taking time, a break and time apart is a lot different. A break is a break up and I didn't sign up to that."

"Well, we're not really on a break, Danny, I didn't mean it literally. But if you dare, DARE go near a copy girl called Chloe..." She prodded him across the table with her finger. "You don't even want to know where I'll hide your body."

"Alright, Friends addict." He smiled, despite himself. "No Chloe the copy girls, I promise. Just Lindsay my girlfriend."

"Good." She smiled shyly before she took another bite of her sandwich, desperate to change the direction of conversation she blurted out the first thing that came to mind. "How's your Mom and Dad?"

"They're fine." he shrugged, distracted almost as he took his napkin and leant over the table to wipe some marinara sauce from Lindsay's cheek. "You've got a little..." he explained.

"Thanks." She blushed as she grabbed her own and wiped the now, sauce free spot. She sighed as she placed her sandwich back on her wrapper. "I hate this."

"Me too." He swallowed at the upset and hurt in her voice. "I'm so sorry, Lindsay."

She shrugged off his apology. "I hate how everything can be absolutely fine, when both of us are hurting. I hate how we just brush everything off."

"I know." Danny sighed as he pushed his sandwich away and took her hand. "I'm glad you came though."

"I don't know whether it was a good idea," she shrugged as she looked down to the table. "I mean we said we were going to spend time apart, and now look; we're making a special effort to see each other."

"Maybe it's what we needed." Danny suggested as he lifted her chin up so that she was looking at him. "Time away from us to make us realise how much we want this? How much we want us?"

"Or to use the time for us to realise how screwed up our relationship really is?"

"That too." Danny nodded. "But I take the responsibility for that."

Lindsay held back on the snip that at least he was taking the responsibility for something. The argument was still raw and she didn't want to cause waves in the still waters.

"Look, you can feel free in saying no, but will you come with me to babysit Alyssa tomorrow?"

"Louie's daughter?"

"Yeah... He's stuck for a babysitter, and I said I would. Mac okayed it too. It might be nice for us to you know, spend some time with her and see what we can be like as..."

"... A family." Lindsay finished.

"I was going for parents, but I like family too. Please Linds?"

"Is it... a good idea though?"

"We won't know till we don't try." He shrugged. "Just, think about it, okay? I'm not saying you have to, at all... But if you're off work, it might be something worth thinking about?"

"I'll think about it." She agreed. "Not promising anything, but I'll definitely see."

"Thank you." He whispered as he took her hand and kissed her knuckles.

"I'm not promising though." She reminded him as she folded up her remaining part of her sandwich and put it back in the plastic carrier bag. "Not so hungry anymore." She shrugged at his questioning look. "I have a list as long as my arm back at the lab that I need to get a move on with."

"Are you sure they're all things you're okay to do?"

"Analysis? Yeah..." Lindsay smiled, amusedly. "If I couldn't what use would I be, Dan? Run to get coffee for people... even though I can't run... and really, I can't use the coffee machine."

"You can't?" He questioned.

"Think Alcoholic in a liquor store." Lindsay smirked. "Pregnant Lindsay and coffee don't mix well."

"Got'cha." He chuckled. "Anyway, your smile would be encouragement for people to carry on... who needs coffee?" He smirked as he helped her from her seat. "I should be getting back too."

"At least we had a change of scenery."

"And a moment or two of just us talking instead of arguing."

"I don't know whether we used the time productively though... We probably should have talked about you know... the matters at hand." Lindsay sighed.

"You make it sound like a business transaction." Danny teased as he tossed his trash in the waste disposal behind them.

"Well... Sometimes it feels like it. I really do think we should have talked, Danny."

"Probably. Maybe next time, hey?" Danny shrugged. "Oh I um... here you go." He said as he revealed the folded piece of paper he'd shoved in his pocket previously.

"What is it?"

"Nothin'." Danny brushed her off as he slipped it into her jacket pocket. "Just, look at it later, okay? Not now."

"Danny..." She sighed with wonder in her eyes. "Just tell me."

"Look at it the second we get back to the lab if you so wish... Just not when I'm here, k?"

She sighed, relenting. His eyes told her he seriously didn't want to be there when she looked at whatever the paper had on it.

"Is it bad?" she asked.

"No." He said shaking his head. "No it's not bad."

She let out a breath of air as they made their way from Subway onto the New York streets. She had set her mind so that she and Danny would be able to cope with walking the few blocks from the sandwich store to the Lab without holding hands, laughing and enjoying their moment away from work.

And just as she accepted it, he took hold of her hand and laced their fingers together.

"Danny..." She cried tearfully, looking down at their hands. "You're not making this easy on me. C'mon..." She growled as she tried to wiggle her hand free.

"Please baby." He pleaded with her, unwilling to let go of her hand. "Please?"

"Asking me to lunch and holding my hand isn't going to fix a thing." She growled at him as they weaved in and out of the masses of people.

"I know, it's going to take a damn miracle to put everything back together. I just... I still remember the first time we held hands, Linds. It was snowin', freezin' and just shitty weather all together, but for those few seconds our hands were touchin' I had this warm feelin' inside of me, and I want you to have that feelin' that I still have. You said you lost that, and I want you to get it back."

"And holding my hand is going to achieve that?"

"It might." He offered a small smile. "Is it?"

"Maybe," she sighed as her fingers linked around his hand softly. "But we're by no means out of the woods, Danny. I'm still hurt. You can't give me a little affection and attention and expect it to be all better."

"I know." He nodded. "I know you're hurt, but at least you're not punchin' the crap out of me, and you're holdin' my hand. That's a start, right?"

"You drive me crazy." She sighed as she sunk into his side, moulding them together as one.

"Someone has to." He smiled as he squeezed her hand affectionately. "We'll get there, Lindsay. And one of these days I'll be able to show you the man I want to be, and he'll make you proud, baby. He will. I promise."

She simply nodded in response, and in her eyes Danny could see her resolve slipping. But instead of using it to his advantage like he would have in the past, he simply let the topic go, and took the natural lead in getting them back to the lab.

He let out a breath as he spied the letter nestled in Lindsay's pocket. Whether she read it or not was her own decision, but it was the beginning of him showing her how he'd changed and how he was slowly transforming into the man he wanted to be.

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**Thanks for reading. Any thoughts are appreciated. :) **


	32. Love Like Crazy

**A/N: With some gentle prodding from **Megan** tonight I stopped being lazy and watching prank calls on YouTube (yeah, seriously... I'm that sad...) and did something slightly productive. This chapter probably will be a bit of a surprise to most of you (if not all of you) but with me being an American girl living in England, I don't get CMT (Country Music channel for those who may not know) so I've gathered about four millions songs I want to use; and when I heard this song, it threw off all my plans and made Fred stamp his feet until I moved things around a little to make room for this. So, this being said, everything I've set up to happen... just sit tight. It's also forshadowing a scene we saw happen. I'll let you guys be the judge as to which scene you think I'm refering to. I'll let you read though. **

**Thank you to all of your lovely reviews from last chapter. I'm pretty sure it's fuelling Fred and making him stamp his feet; which is a welcome change! **

**Special, fluffy, pink daisies to: **rhymenocerous, NothatRose, Christina5139, Lindsay1234, Sweet LIL loz, rapidtetv, afrozenheart412, dl-shipper34, ZoeyBug, brendanakai, bluelilyrose, 18lzytwner, jennifer32485, unlikelyRLshipper and Dine89**. Expect review replies. (Unless I find a REALLY funny YouTube video. then... well... hehe) **

**Enough of my diary entry for the day. Cupcakes if you made it this far. **

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**Love like Crazy – Lee Brice **

_Just ask him how he did it; he'll say pull up a seat; it'll only take a minute to tell you everything. Be her best friend, tell the truth, and overuse I Love You. Go to work, do your best, don't outsmart your common sense. Never let your prayin' knees get lazy... And love like crazy._

_

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_

"How did you and Mommy do it?"

"Do what, son?" Danny's father asked as he turned in his recliner seat and muted the television

"Last as long as you have." Danny sighed as he sat down on the couch; looking towards his father. "Through everythin' me and Louie put you through you didn't even stutter. How did you guys do it? I don't know how... I can't. I see you two make it look so effortless, yet I can't go six months with Lindsay without something fucking us up; that something usually being me."

"Is it that bad with Linds?"

"Yeah." Danny nodded. "She won't answer my calls."

"Well Danny, judging by what you said, I imagine her to be feeling mighty hurt right now."

"Yeah, she is really hurt, but how can I fix it if she won't talk to me, Dad. We went for lunch yesterday and I um... I wrote her a letter."

"You did what?"

"I wrote her a letter."

"Well, I heard you the first time I meant more along the lines of, why did you do that?"

"Because it's better than apologising verbally," Upon receiving a disbelieving look, Danny sighed. "Dad; trust me, it is, k? And now, she won't even talk to me. I mean I don't even know if she read the letter... And I know for a fact I didn't write anything that could have hurt her feelings in the letter."

"Alright." His father nodded. "So what do you want me to do?"

"I want some advice." Danny whispered.

"Well, my first piece of advice would be keeping your trap shut."

"Well that's a fairly obvious piece of advice." Danny pointed out. "Where were you a few days ago?"

"Sat right here on my ass, mindin' my own business... and if it's so damn obvious, how about you try it sometime?"

"Dad, I'm trying to be serious. I have a lot to lose here, you know?"

"Yeah, and you had a lot to lose the last time when you cheated on her, Danny. If it's getting old for me, I dread to think how Lindsay's feeling. Poor girl. What the hell else does she have to go through with you?"

"Dad, look, I can go find Ma if this isn't..."

"No come on," he sighed. "Take a seat, alright," Vince turned in his recliner as he noticed his son hesitating. "Dan, take a seat."

Retaking his seat on the couch, Danny let out a growl of annoyance. "Look, I thought you were going to help me Dad, not give me a lecture on how stupid I've been."

"I haven't even started kid." Vince smirked before leaning forwards on his chair. "You want to know how your Mother and I have lasted so long?"

"Yeah." Danny shuffled in his seat, embarrassed almost. "I want what you two have with Linds. I know I wasn't always the best, Dad. I wasn't the best kid, but I love you both, and I really do respect how despite all the crap Louie threw at you, you still managed to keep a solid relationship. I mean, if my kid is anything like me or Louie, I know me and Linds probably wouldn't deal as well as you two did."

"And that right there is your first mistake. You need to have faith in your relationship with her, Danny. You need to trust her."

"I trust her with my life, Dad. It's me I don't trust."

"Well, that's something you have to work on." Vince shrugged. "If you don't trust yourself, then you can't begin to trust someone else."

"But I do, Dad. I trust her with my entire life."

"If you walked out on her, you can't trust her enough, Danny. You said she doesn't want to marry you..."

"On a bad day I think so."

"Well, that right there shows you how you don't trust her completely. Even on a bad day, there needs to be some little voice in the back of your mind, telling you that she _does_ want to marry you. She wouldn't be with you right now if that wasn't the case."

"She isn't with me now, Dad." Danny reminded his father. "She wants time away from me."

"I'd want time away from you too if you said all that shit to me. Dan, if I said that to your Ma, I would have gotten a hell of a lot more than just a slap or two. Hell, she wouldn't have thought twice about... It's not even worth thinking about."

"I'm sure it passed Lindsay's mind." Danny shuffled in his seat.

"I wouldn't be surprised." Vince smirked. "It would serve you right."

"Well, enough about Lindsay castratin' me, k?"

"Just sayin'." Vince chuckled. "So what do you want, son?"

"What do you think I need to do? How did you do it?"

"Well," Vince took a breath. "I look at your Mom as my best friend; she knows everything about me. In fact, I'd even go as far as saying that she knows me more than I know myself."

"Well, Lindsay is definitely my best friend." Danny nodded adamantly. "I mean I have Flack and the other guys I work with, but if I was asked, Linds would be my best friend. I know that no matter what she'll always be there. Whether we're married until we're eighty five, or we break up tomorrow, she'd be there through hell and high water if I needed her, and I'm the same with her. She has this part of my heart that I just can't describe. I can be myself around her and know that she'll love me no matter what; whether it be romantically, or as a friend; and for that, I love her."

"Well, that's a starting point." Vince smirked, trying to hide his true pride for his son and his admission about how he truly felt for Lindsay. "I make sure that everythin' I say is the truth. Otherwise..." he paused for effect. "Bites you hard in the ass."

Danny let out a puff of air and closed his eyes; his way of agreeing. "Ain't that the truth?"

"And I've found you don't have that horrible sinking feeling you get in your chest."

"I get that a lot." Danny admitted.

"Well then," Vince gestured. "That's tellin' me at least that something needs to be done about that on your part... Tellin' a lie is harder than tellin' the truth, Danny. You have to fabricate a story and it's just not worth it, kid."

"I know, Dad... I just, I want to protect her."

"But if lying is the only way to protect her, isn't it better for her to know the truth?"

"I guess." Danny sighed as he pinched the bridge of his nose. "I just... I love her, Dad. One hell of a lot, and I just have this overwhelming need to protect her from things. She's gone through so much in her life before me and..."

"And you feel like you need to keep that pattern going?" Vince questioned. "I know all about Montana and the girls she watched die... Google is my friend, Danny. When you mentioned it to me back in... whenever it was, I took a look online. I know exactly what went down that night from everything on the news websites. I saw the clips of you and her after the trial. It was like I was there with you; so don't start with her experiencing stuff like that... If anything, Daniel, you should be making sure that she doesn't live in the past. Yes, she suffered an ordeal through her teenage years and experienced more loss than most people could probably function with; but she did it and she moved on. And using that as a lame excuse just gets me fired up, Danny. Don't pretend you think about her vulnerability, because that is the last thing on your mind, and we both know it."

Danny blinked. Never before in his life had he seen his father voice his views so strongly and passionately before. He had been absolutely right though. He used it as a lame excuse; if anything, he added to her emotional turmoil. He couldn't give her a "normal" relationship. There just _had _to be drama.

"You're right," Danny finally admitted.

"I know I'm right." Vince shrugged. "But it's whether you're going to do somethin' about it..."

"I'm here askin' for help, aren't I?" Danny sighed. "Of course I'm going to do somethin', Dad. I'm on the verge of losing her."

"I know, kid," Vince sighed. "I just... it frustrates me because I can see how much you love each other. And while you've gone and done things assed backwards, it works for you guys... for the best part. I want you _both_ to be happy."

"Me too." Danny sighed.

"Make sure she knows you love her," Vince continued, seeing how Danny was losing the determination he had seemed to have beforehand. "It seems obvious, but on her worst day; I don't know... say for example, you guys are in the lab and a kid's been murdered, and the guy is about to walk free... you walk up behind her, tell her you love her and you believe in her, and I swear Dan, she'll singlehandedly catch the bastard, because she knows you're there to catch her on that off chance that she doesn't, and in your line of work, she needs that."

"You gained that knowledge from bein' with Mom..." Danny smiled. "Catchin' murderers?"

"Kid, I'm speaking your language." Vince shrugged. "The most devastation your Mother gets is when you boys don't call..."

"Something else for me to feel guilty about..."

"Oh enough of the martyr attitude; you feel guilty? Call more - it's as simple as that, Danny-boy."

"Alright," Danny sighed, rolling his eyes. "Anything else?"

"Danny," Vince sighed as he gripped Danny's knee and squeezed it. It was something he'd done since Danny was a child, but as his son had grown, it had just stayed with them as a show of affection. "Use your common sense. You know what you should and shouldn't be doing. I'm sure all she wants is for you to do is try you best; and the Lord knows you haven't been trying this past year."

"I have." Danny argued. "At times I have."

"At times isn't good enough, Daniel." Vince growled. "She's an amazing woman, and you're going to lose her if you carry on like this. How many chances do you want with her?"

"I don't want chances, Dad. I want forever."

"So, get off your ass and make it happen." He cried, frustrated with his son. "What is it going to take for you to do what you need to do?

"A miracle?"

"Well you might be waitin' a while for that."

"No shit."

"Knock that shit off," Vince clipped Danny around the head. "I'm tellin' you what the deal is, Danny. You need to show her how much you love her, and how damn sorry you are to begin with."

"Which I'm trying to do."

"Alright," Vince took a deep breath. "So, tell me what your next plan of action is then, after she's forgiven you and you've moved back in?"

"Well," Danny thought about it for a moment. "I'm going to make sure I do everything you've just said."

"How though?"

"I'm going to marry her." Danny smiled proudly.

Vince smacked his forehead with his palm, frustrated with how he wasn't getting through to his son. "Danny, marriage isn't going to solve this. If you go into a marriage together when the waters are choppy, quite frankly, you're going to be fucked, and up the creek without a paddle, alright? The last thing you want to do is get married when there are still issues."

"See though Dad, I think this is what we needed. This time apart to address some of the things we still have. The issues, you know?"

"Issues?"

"Issues." Danny nodded. "Trust issues... We know we love each other, and that we are meant to be together. We know that. But with the trust issues; for Lindsay I think, it's just hard. And it doesn't help when I blow up like I did."

"I'd say that's a bigger issue than trust, Danny, because do you really think you acting like that will do anything for Lindsay and her confidence in the relationship?"

"Well... no."

"Well... don't do it then."

Running his fingers through his hair, Danny let out a frustrated sigh.

"Look, let me try this a different way." Vince began. "I know you came to me for advice, and Danny, it warms my heart that you have; it does. You have to realise though that I'm sayin' all of this and givin' you a hard time because I care. I care about you, Lindsay, and my grandchild she's carryin', and I want the best for you all. So if it means kicking your stubborn ass into gear, then so be it."

"I know, Dad. I just... I'm frustrated. I want a quick fix to all of this, and I know there isn't anything I can do to get that. It's gonna take time."

"Praise the Lord." Vince smiled. "We've had a breakthrough."

"Watch it." Danny teased. "I can be a smartass again."

"And who will that benefit?"

"The old Danny..." Danny smiled as he shuffled in his seat. "I'm not that guy anymore. I'm gonna take your advice and make us stronger, and fix things."

"I'm glad to hear it." Vince smiled as he patted Danny's thigh. "I'm proud of you, son. This is the type of initiative I've been waiting to see with you; asking someone for help instead of _not_ dealing with it by yourself."

"I realised that didn't work too well for me."

"No shit." Vince smirked.

"So in a nutshell I need to..." Danny nudged the conversation back to where he ideally wanted it.

"Be her best friend," Vince began. "Tell her the truth; no matter what the consequences might be. Overuse I Love You, especially on her hard days. Do your best in your relationship with her, don't outsmart your common sense, and most importantly..."

"What?" Danny pressed.

"And love her like crazy."

* * *

**Thoughts? Comments? Anything is appreciated. :) **

**Thanks for reading! **


	33. Defying Gravity

**A/N: Hi guys! Me again! It seems like I'm on quite the roll here. I'm heading away from my lappytop for the best part of this week, so my updates/writing is probably going to be little to nothing, so I figured I would update before I go away. :) I'm glad you all seemed to enjoy Vince and Danny's little discussion last chapter. It was a lot of fun to write something like that. I know it was a little different to how we've seen Danny's daddy before, but I thought, why not mix this up?... **

**So, here's part 1 of the two loose ends I seem to have going on. I hope you enjoy it. I'm not going to go on about how I'm unsure of it. I'm not. I promise. **

******Thank you to everyone who read and reviewed last chapter. Special mention to: **Christina5139, jorizo afrozenheart412, rapidtetv, Lindsay1234, brendanakai, ZoeyBug, Dine89, bluelilyrose, NothatRose, messermonroeforever125, 18lzytwner, jennifer32485, unlikelyRLshipper and dl-shipper34.****** They are all very much appreciated, believe me... They're like my fluffy crack! hehe.**  


**BTW... this chapter, I used one of my favourite songs, so I really advise you to check out Idina Menzel's**** 'Pop' remix. It has such a pretty tune.**

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**Defying Gravity – Idina Menzel **

_Something has changed within me, something is not the same. I'm through with playing by the rules of someone else's game. Too late for second-guessing; too late to go back to sleep...It's time to trust my instincts, close my eyes and leap!_

_

* * *

_

"I'm bored."

"Well kid, you have all these toys around you... There has to be something worth playing with." For Danny, flicking through the television channels he didn't have himself seemed a little more important at this moment in time.

"They're all boring."

"Word of the day?" Danny mused to his seven year old niece. "See how many different times you can use the same word?"

"Bored and boring are two different words Uncle Danny." Alyssa pointed out. "Jeez."

"Um, excuse me." Danny growled with a raised eyebrow.

"Sorry," The little girl blushed sheepishly. "What time is Aunt Lindsay getting here?"

"Lyss, hold off on Aunt Linds for the minute, just call her Lindsay, okay? And I'm not even sure if she'll be able to make it."

"Why?"

"Why what? What can't you call her Aunt Linds, or why she might not be able to make it."

"Why can't I call her Auntie?"

"Because kiddo, just... do it for me, k?"

"But Uncle Danny, you really want to marry her and I just know you will anyway, so why can't I? I know she's really nice and probably wouldn't mind at all."

"Well, we're not getting married for the minute, sweetheart, and I don't want her to feel pressured into marrying me with you calling her Auntie."

"She doesn't mind." Alyssa implored. "She honestly doesn't, Dandan."

"I know baby, just... for me, k? For your favourite Uncle."

"Uncle Danny, you're my only uncle."

"Always gotta have the last word, don'tcha?"

Alyssa smirked. "You bet'cha."

* * *

Lindsay looked up at the apartment building before looking down to the post it note that she'd used as her directions. Checking the apartment buzzers, she saw Messer, written in a scrawl similar to Danny's, some capitals, some lower case – but none joined together. She smiled as she held her index finger down on the button for a moment before removing it and giving Alyssa or Danny the chance to answer her request of entry.

"AUNT LINDS!" A little voice bellowed down the intercom. "Aunt Linds? Aunt Lindsay is that you?"

"Hey sweetie, wanna let me..." She was cut off by the buzzing of the door indicating her entry into the building.

By the time she'd made it up in the elevator, both Danny and Alyssa were stood outside the front door of the apartment, beaming at her as she stepped off the elevator.

"AUNT LINDS!" Alyssa cried as she sprinted down the hallway. "Lindsay!"

"ALYSSA!" Danny bellowed, stopping the little girl in an instant. "What do you think you're doing... you can't bump into Lindsay like you used to. She's pregnant, honey." Danny reminded her as Lindsay wrapped her arm around the little girl and guided her back to the apartment. "You need to be careful around her; she's carrying a baby and you don't want to hurt your baby cousin, do you?"

"No sir." Alyssa sniffled.

"Alright, now go inside and sit down in the thinking corner for five minutes." As the little girl passed him on her way into the apartment, he crouched next to her and grumbled in her ear; something to which Lindsay missed until she heard her name.

She waited a moment as Danny watched his niece sulk into the apartment and throw herself on a little plastic chair in a huff.

"What was that about?" Lindsay gestured to where they had just been standing.

"Oh it was nothing," he smiled as he pressed a kiss to her cheek. "Just tellin' her that she needed to calm down... I'm really glad you came Linds."

"Well, I told you I'd think about it." She shrugged. "And I did..."

"Thanks." He pressed to her temple and took a quick moment to inhale the scent of her shampoo. "How was your shift?" he cleared his throat as he realised what he was doing.

"Boring as hell." Lindsay complained as they entered the apartment together. "I rearranged my desk."

"... items." Danny finished hopefully. "You better not tell me you were rearranging-..."

"Do you think I'm an idiot?" Lindsay laughed as she set her satchel down on the floor in the hallway. "Really? Have you seen the size of those desks? Danny... jeez. Sure, in my seven month pregnant state I'm gonna...-"

"I know, I realise how stupid it was." He cut her off. "Did you find the place okay?"

"Yeah," she smiled, "your directions were simple enough... It's a lovely place.,. considering the area."

"Yeah." Danny sighed. "It works for him..." he paused for a moment, "Linds, I really feel like it's time we talked about it... I wanted to tell you that...-"

"Not now," Lindsay said, placing her hand on Danny's. "Later."

Letting out a sigh, Danny nodded hesitantly. As much as he hated it, she was right. Later would have to do.

* * *

"So," Danny began as he stood opposite Lindsay in the small and narrow kitchenette in Louie's apartment. "I tried calling you... Why didn't you answer the phone? And don't tell me you went to bed early this time, alright?" He voice made him sound like he was joking, but the look in his eyes told Lindsay he was hurt by the lack of contact between them.

"Not now Danny," Lindsay sighed as she nursed her cup of tea. "Come on, Alyssa's right..."

"She's watching TV, Linds; she doesn't care what we're talking about. You've been here an hour... I waited, and I'm bored now. We need to talk."

"I wouldn't be too sure." Lindsay shrugged. "I don't want her to hear any of this... It's not her problem, Danny, and she shouldn't deserve us ignoring her when we're supposed to be watching her."

"We're not ignoring her, babe... She's watchin' Hannah Montana." He smiled. "Montana..."

"I'm not comfortable discussing our marital problems in front of her." Lindsay shrugged as she took a sip of her steaming tea.

All Danny could do was fight the grin at Lindsay's terminology. Marital, ignoring the use of problems of course. Lindsay had referred to them as marital problems. "Lindsay, we need to talk, and so far we haven't done much of that." He continued, desperately trying to suppress the glee in his voice.

"No, because I needed time Danny... And I still need time."

"Why Lindsay? What time could you possibly need? What else could you possibly need to think about?"

"Danny, you're giving me a headache." She growled, "Please, just let this go, okay. I'm here. That should count for something."

"And it does, Linds. It does. You have no idea how relieved I am that you came; honestly. I just... I want us to get back together, babe. I miss you. The both of you." He sighed as he laid a hand on her stomach and rubbed it softly.

Lindsay sighed heavily and pinched the bridge of her nose as an attempt to relieve some stress that was building up. "You're not making this any easier."

"Making what easier, baby?" He sighed as he took the cup from her and placed it on the counter. "I don't understand what this is..."

"It's time apart, Danny. It's time to think. It's time to get our heads in the right place so that we can function in a relationship for a little more than six months."

"I'm there, Linds."

"You might be," she whispered. "But I'm not."

Danny sighed. "But... You came."

"It doesn't mean that I'm okay with everything that happened. Yes, I miss you. I miss you so much, Danny, but that doesn't take away from everything that you've said to me. Hell, I'm still desperately holding onto our relationship... I don't want to end it, but you have to remember a few days ago I was struggling to feel anything."

"I don't believe it." Danny whispered, causing Lindsay's cheeks to blush. "If that was the case, you wouldn't have met me for lunch, and you wouldn't have come tonight, Linds. I know you, baby. I do, I know you don't think I do, but I know you better than I know myself, and if you didn't feel anything for me, then you wouldn't string me along; you wouldn't be able to deal with that."

"How do you know I'm not giving you hope to pull the carpet out from underneath you to hurt you like you've hurt me."

"Because despite everything I've done, you love me, and by doing that you'd hurt yourself just as much as you'd hurt me."

"That's very bold."

"But it's true." Danny whispered as he stepped towards her and rested his forehead against her's. "And I love you; and that's why I'm pushin' through this wall you've gone and built around yourself over the past few days."

"It isn't true." She whispered. "Something's changed in me, Danny. Things aren't the same."

Danny narrowed his eyes and kept her gaze as he did so. Under his silent scrutiny, Lindsay couldn't deal with the eye contact and glanced away. He then tucked his index finger underneath her chin and nudged her so that she was again looking him in the eyes. "I'm sorry."

"I know you are."

"Please, Lindsay?" he whispered. "Please give me another chance. I love you, and I don't want to lose you. I want to get the chance to show you all that I can be. You're my best friend, Linds, and I need you."

"I know," she nodded. "And I need you too."

"I sense a but..."

"Because there is one..." she trailed off. "Right now, I just... I need time, Danny. You can't expect a quick fix, here. A sorry or ten isn't going to make me forget, or make me forgive any faster for that matter."

"I know." He nodded as he finally wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close, as best as he could with their child preventing them getting any closer. He dropped a kiss to her forehead before she leant her head on his shoulder. "Please just think about it."

"What do you think I'm doing? All I'm doing is thinking." She glanced up. Her nose was now touching his, and he could tell that her lips were itching to kiss him. He could see the frustration in her eyes; her stubborn nature was making her hold back.

"Danny and Lindsay, sitting in a tree, k-i-s-s-i-n-g, first comes baby, then comes marriage... and then... you make me screw the song up, Uncle Danny!"

"Alyssa," Danny smiled, pressing a sneaky kiss to Lindsay's lips before turning. "What's the deal?"

"Hannah _Montana_ finished." The little girl giggled as she looked at Lindsay.

"Congratulations." Danny smirked. "What do you want me to do about that?"

Alyssa shrugged. "I'm bored."

"Surprise surprise." Danny teased. "What would you like to do?"

Alyssa turned to face Lindsay and smiled.

* * *

"And what else do you gots in there?" The seven year old peaked into Lindsay's make up bag. "Anything else pretty?"

"I have lipgloss." Lindsay smiled as she grabbed the item. "Want a little of this on?"

"Can I?" Alyssa gasped. "Can I?"

"If it's okay with Uncle Danny..."

"I don't care," he smirked as he watched his girlfriend apply gloss to the little girl's lips. If he was honest, he didn't even realise Lindsay used make up; let alone actually carried around with her. He figured maybe a bit of mascara, but that was it he had thought... None of the blush, eyeshadow or foundation make up she'd had on hand. It genuinely surprised him because he'd seen Lindsay first thing in a morning, and if he was completely honest, he'd never seen anyone so beautiful at such an hour. So whether she carried this around for shits and giggles or insisted on applying makeup at the crack of dawn before crawling back into bed was beyond him... All he knew was that she didn't need any of it.

"Why's Uncle Danny lookin' like that?" Alyssa whispered loud enough to Lindsay to stir him from his thoughts. "He looks... crazy."

"He's just lost in thought." Lindsay explained, knowing the look on Danny's face. "He's probably mesmerised by your beauty, Lyss."

"Prolly." Alyssa grinned. "Uncle D, when's dinner ready?"

"When I get off my ass and start makin' it." He smirked, "Why? Ya hungry?"

"No." Alyssa smiled and then turned to smirk at Lindsay. "Aunt Linds, you gots enough to let Uncle D try some?"

"You want to put make up on me?" Danny snorted. "Oh Lyssy, there's not many lines I draw, but this is one of them. I'll play Barbies, or whatever the hell it is you play nowadays, but make up I will not do."

"What if your baby is a girl, Uncle Danny..." Alyssa reasoned. "She'll want to put make up on you."

"But..." Danny sighed. "Lyss, c'mon kiddo."

"Danny you'll be a great model." Alyssa sniffled. "Aunt Linds already looks pretty and she doesn't need anything, but there are blemishes I need to deal with on you..."

"Blemishes? What the hell is a blemish?"

"It's just a minor imperfection." Alyssa smirked. "Please."

"A... are you serious? What the hell do they teach you at school? How to be smarter than your Uncle Danny?... if so, they need a goddamn raise."

"Daniel!" Lindsay snipped. "Just watch what you're saying with all these hells and goddamns; they're not nice, are they Alyssa?"

"I don't think they are." Alyssa smirked.

"Sorry," he sighed heavily before turning to face Alyssa. "Look, do I have any choice here?"

"Nope." The little girl smiled. "Please... I'll love you forever."

"You have no choice... you have to love me." Danny sighed as he shuffled in his seat. "Fine. But I draw the line at mascara... and eyeliner. I ain't lookin' like no drag queen."

"What's a drag queen?"

"Um..." Danny's eyes met Lindsay's in sheer panic.

"Look here, Lyss, I found some pink glitter, that might look really nice." Lindsay butted in, saving Danny's ass.

"YAY!" Alyssa giggled as she carefully took the little pot of glitter Lindsay had. "Close your eyes, Uncle Danny."

"God help me." Danny muttered as his eyes fluttered shut. "You better give me a trillion kisses after this, Lyss." He growled as Alyssa carefully swiped his eyelid with some purple eyeshadow before adding the pink glitter.

"Yeah yeah, whatever." Alyssa smirked over her shoulder at Lindsay.

It had been difficult to say the very least over the past few days for them. Danny had moved out temporarily as they dealt with the aftermath of their argument. He'd somehow managed to snag a double shift, which had cut his need for sleeping to a minimum while giving him something to focus on; but he'd also had to work around Lindsay, which almost defeated the object. As their respective cases came to a close, Mac had sent them home together; only for them to go their separate ways. They hadn't let on to anyone about their problems and together they'd decided that they would rather it stayed that way. Flack was under the impression everything was fixed with Danny not staying at his apartment, and no one else needed to know anything had happened in the first place.

Danny had taken up residence in his childhood bedroom at his parents' house, thinking it was his only alternative. It would have been more logical and practical to kip on Louie's couch in Brooklyn, but he didn't want to have to answer a heartbroken Alyssa's long list of why he'd broken Aunt Lindsay's heart... again.

When he had asked her to babysit, it had caught Lindsay off guard, even though she had met him for lunch that afternoon. They both needed a few days to clear their mind while processing all the things they had said that they hadn't really meant... Babysitting and acting like a family wasn't going to achieve that. Therefore, she'd reluctantly agreed to watch Alyssa with Danny; and she just hoped he'd be able to control himself and wouldn't try to make it up to her in front of Alyssa. And for the most part, he had managed to control himself.

The time apart, for Lindsay at least, had given her a lot to think about. A lot of what Danny had said to her was still weighing on her mind; some things heavier than others. Of course the highly offensive stuff he'd thrown at her took precedence, but some other things were at the forefront of her mind also. Like, why was she taking so long in wanting to get married? She knew she wanted to marry him, so why was she waiting? To see whether he'd up and leave like how he nearly did? Or was she testing him to see whether he genuinely meant it – whether he genuinely wanted to get married? She was unsure. What she was sure of; was that something had changed within her. And despite all the spiteful things he had said to her, his genuine hurt about her not 'wanting' to marry him was something that had opened her eyes. The idea she had constantly rejected seemed to be more appealing.

It was like she was following someone else's rules by not letting herself do what she genuinely wanted to, and a part of her wondered whether Danny knew that. He knew she was cautious and thought things through logically... but he also knew that she loved him with every fibre of her being, and in hindsight and the clear of day now, Lindsay could almost understand Danny's frustration.

It did not however make up for the fact that he'd spitefully told her she'd fallen pregnant on purpose.

As she watched Danny interact with his niece, she could feel her heart swell. She loved the fact his voice dropped a whole octave when he spoke to her, or spoke of her. She loved how gentle he was. She loved how he'd sit there, trying not to cringe, as his niece prodded him in the eye with an eyeshadow brush. Not many men would sit through it like he was. That much she knew was a fact. After a little coaxing, there he was, with a smile on his face as his niece giggled musically.

Seeing Danny with his niece filled Lindsay with hope for their future. Up until now, if she was honest she'd almost been blind. She didn't know the type of person Danny could be while around a child. Of course she knew Ruben, but their relationship had been different. Lindsay had a strong feeling that their child was a girl, and she'd never been able to experience Danny interacting with a little girl. Seeing him with Alyssa made her feel a little more peaceful. She knew that her little girl, because she _was _a little girl, was going to benefit from a Daddy that was a Daddy worth having. A Daddy to be proud of.

And although she'd been initially wary of babysitting with him; she was now beginning to believe that maybe it had done some good for their relationship.

"When are you and Aunt Linds going to get...-"

"So how about that boy you like... Justin Bibber or whatever his name is..." Danny desperately changed the subject before Alyssa could finish, which effectively brought Lindsay from her thoughts. It was peculiar to Lindsay at how strangely Danny was acting when Alyssa would ask her usual string of questions...what type of baby the baby was... when they were getting married... It was just natural for her to ask all of that. So why was Danny freaking out now?

"His name is Bieber, Danny. Justin Bieber. Not Bibber. And he's a singer. It's a crush... I don't _like_ him. He prolly has four bazillion other girls liking him too." She sighed before turning on her seat. Alyssa faced Lindsay and cocked her eyebrow. "Aunt Linds do you even _want_ to marry Uncle Danny?"

"Sweetie, I think that's something him and I need to discuss between the two of us." Lindsay answered softly.

"But... do you?" Alyssa pressed, determined to get a straight answer from one of the adults in the room.

"Do I?" Lindsay repeated, giving her time to come up with an honest answer. She changed her gaze from Alyssa to Danny and nodded. She let out a breath as his eyes softened while she held his gaze. Finally, she nodded. "Yeah... I do. I really do."

And with that, Lindsay slowly stood and padded her way into the kitchen to start the dinner Danny had laid on the countertop.

She'd closed her eyes and leaped after trusting her instincts... just hoping she'd made the right decision.

Time would only tell.

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**Fred seems to like Lindsay making shock admissions at the end of chapters. What can I say? He's a mean boy. I hope the chapter wasn't too disjointed like I feel it is. Any thoughts and comments are much appreciated. And finally, thank you for reading! :) **


	34. I Never Told You

**A/N: Guess who's baaaaaaaaaaack? :) ... it's me! I survived a week away from writing... Note, survived. barely. hardly... okay, I had written some lines of what I wanted to remember in a text on my phone. But by the by. You do what you need to get by, right? **

**I hope my American friends had a lovely 4th of July... and every one else, I hope you had a good Sunday afternoon! **

**I won't bore you all with a ridiculous A/N once again. I think I sometimes use them as like diary entries... *sigh* LOL. I'm just glad that you all liked Alyssa :) I know that Louie having a kid was a little... out there, but I'm glad that... everyone I think kind of saw how she was just a way for me to make my point... Thank you for suspending your disbelief on that one, guys! :) **

**But seriously, you guys and your reviews... blown away I was. It's still surreal (even after all the stories I bombard you with) when you all say the lovely things you say to me... I'd say you're all too kind, but I quite like the kindness, you know? hehe. So I'll just thank you all and then get this show on the road.**

**So, special thanks to: **webdlfan, Christina5139, Lindsay1234, rapidtetv, FoxPhile, afrozenheart412, ZoeyBug, uscrocks, brendanakai, rhymenocerous, iheartcsinewyork, unlikelyRLshipper, 18lzytwner, messermonroeforever125, Dine89, bluelilyrose and jennifer32485.

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**P.s. For the record, this is set the same night as DL babysit Alyssa. **

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**I Never Told You – Colbie Calliat. **

_But I never told you, what I should have said. No, I never told you, I just held it in; and now, I miss everything about you. I can't believe that I still want you; and after all the things we've been through, I miss everything about you._

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_

Lindsay Monroe swiped at the tear that slipped down her cheek before it could join the others that were beginning to pool on her pillow. Going by their track record, she should have been a pro at nursing a broken heart and a lonely night alone; she'd done it enough times. Tonight was just too hard.

The taste she'd had of how they _could_ be had just been destructive in helping her deal with their separation. She was now at the stage where she was just hurting herself. Plain and simple. She was holding in the things she should be telling him, and sharing all the wrong things. What had she been thinking in telling Alyssa that she wanted to marry Danny? It had been the wrong way to go about that whole conversation and in afterthought, she'd known that, but it was too late to now bite her tongue. She figured she'd caved under the sentimental time she'd spent with Danny and Alyssa, being carefree and just... herself.

She missed him. She did. She missed him to the point where her heart ached; but there was just something... something inside of her that told her to wait.

The only other time her heart had ached about him was when she'd been in Montana, but that had been for completely different reasons; her heart was aching for what they could be. Her heart now was aching for all that they were. All that _she _wasn't letting them have.

Of course, her heart had ached when he'd cheated; he'd done a damn good job of shattering her heart that time... but that again was a different ache – and she was determined to keep _that_ in the past.

Although it had seemed like a good idea, she was beginning to think that spending quality time with Danny, babysitting together, wasn't the good idea she'd thought originally. She wasn't ready to take him back. Her heart was saying yes, but her mind was saying no.

And for once, her mind was bypassing what the heart wanted.

After Louie had returned from his shift at work, Danny had insisted he took her home, and honestly, she had wanted him to. When she was with him, she felt safe. He'd taken the subway with her back to their apartment, walked her to their floor, stood while she opened the door... and in that moment, Lindsay's heart had been racing. The entire way, she'd prepped herself up for him asking to stay the night; or at the very least a kiss goodnight. But... he hadn't. He placed a hand on her stomach and rubbed it affectionately before bending down and pressing a kiss to the area to which he'd just rubbed, whispering 'Goodnight kiddo' as he did so.

And that had been it. No pleading eyes, no lingering kisses. No nothing. And honestly, she didn't know what to think. She'd inadvertently told him that she wanted to marry him, and he didn't bring it up once.

Was he respecting her pleas for time or had she hurt him?

She hoped it was the former, and prayed it wasn't the latter; but with everything she'd thrown at him over the past week or so, her throwing him a curveball of, 'yes, I want to marry you' after kicking him out was a lot to take. Yes, it was his fault why they were in the mess they were, but he was sorry; and deep down she knew that. There was just a little bit of her that wanted to be vindictive towards him. She wanted to get back with him on her own terms, and fully intended on making him suffer while doing so.

She just wondered now whether she had pushed him too far?

Throwing the covers from her, Lindsay let out a laboured sigh as she slowly sat up. Going to bed without him just wasn't the same. She was tired; exhausted in fact – but she figured that sleep wasn't on the horizon for a while.

She made her way out into the living room as her eyes searched for something to do... anything to keep her busy. Skipping over the Baby magazines her mother had subscribed her to, Lindsay's eyes fell on her coat; more specifically the protruding pockets.

She took a seat on the couch as she pulled the coat from where it hung strategically on the edge of the couch. Shesighed at the amount of trash she insisted in shoving in there. Receipts, loose change and subway tickets were the main things she found. She dumped everything out; ready to sort through the change and the crap, but her eyes fell on a folded, yellow piece of legal paper.

Which was when her heart stopped.

She had completely forgotten about it, but now, as it laid on the coffee table propped up and staring at her, Lindsay let out the laboured breath she'd been holding. She reached forward and picked up the creased and crinkled piece of paper and carefully began to unfold it. She figured it was a letter, and as her eyes fell on it, her thoughts were confirmed.

She just had no idea what it contained.

Taking a deep breath, her eyes began to soak in the words. Lindsay blinked away a stray tear or two as she realised what it was Danny had done. Rather than giving her empty words that he could forget he'd promised her, he'd written them down for her.

And that blew her mind.

It was one thing him going out of his way; coming from Staten Island and weakly convincing her that they should be together and to try their relationship one last time. It was another thing giving her the choice to meet him; him giving her a letter to read in her own time, and giving her the time to forgive him on her own terms. They had done the dramatic 'I'm sorry, please reconsider, I love you', before, and this time he hadn't pushed her the same way he had done before. The letter Danny had written told her that he'd grown up. He had obviously thought about his way of apologising carefully. So much so, he'd been able to sit down and form a whole letter doing so.

A lot of what Danny had said in his letter had really tugged on her heartstrings. They were things she wanted him to say. They were things she needed to hear him say; but never in a million years had she thought that he'd write them down for her.

A part of her thought that the fears Danny had raised in his letter was the real reason as to why he'd lashed out at her. It wasn't that she had fallen pregnant; it was the stress he was under to step up and be the person she needed him to be. From her time working with Danny she knew how critical he was with himself in the areas of his life that mattered most. When he screwed up at work, he tended to beat himself up about it, and likewise with her; when he screwed up with her, he went into self destruct mode. But the fact that he'd recognised all the fears he had in the letter, made her realise that maybe he was slowly turning away from the Danny she knew, and was being the Danny she needed.

His actions spoke louder than the words on the page and as she continued to read his letter, she swiped away a single stray tear as her eyes looked over one little line again and again.

_I want you to be my forever; not just a part of it._

The sentiment behind what he meant filled her with hope for their relationship. He was in it for the long run with her, and while sometimes he did mess up; them coming to an end was never an option for him. He'd fight till his last breath to keep her with him.

He'd keep on loving her no matter what.

Giving up on this fight didn't mean she was weak. Yes, she had been hurt by what he had said, but in waiting and practically pushing him away she hadn't really gained anything. She was tired of missing him. And although it was probably a lot easier to just call it a day on them, the letter that Lindsay held in her hands showed her every reason in the world to fight for what they _did _have.

She glanced at her watch, right now, as far as she was aware, he had started his graveyard shift; his way of raising a little more money for them so that she could go to Montana and visit her parents, and still be able to function with a baby on the way with their two salaries.

She shrugged and grabbed her cell phone and pulled up the text messaging, figuring that she'd waited long enough to acknowledge the heartfelt letter he'd sent her.

_I just found the letter you gave me; I guess it slipped my mind. I loved it though, Danny. It really meant a lot, and although a text isn't the best form of communication, I don't want you getting into trouble... so, I have a few things to tell you. I miss you; everything about you. I haven't told you all that I should have told you; I guess I've been holding it all in. I hope I didn't hurt you tonight when I said what I did, I just... I wanted to tell you that there is still hope for us... I'm just scared. I'll speak to you later though, have a good shift. I love you. _

She suppressed the smile as she pressed send. Although it had been a long text message, it got what she wanted to say across. She placed her phone on her thigh and sat back on the couch, hoping for a reply, but not really expecting one. She closed her eyes and let out a sigh, mentally preparing herself for bed alone... until her phone buzzed. She quickly opened the message and her eyes glued themselves to her screen, reading the new message.

_You miss me? _

She rolled her eyes as she hit 'reply', sensing the teasing as he had typed the message out to her.

_I might... And out of everything I said; that's all you comment on? _

Satisfied, she hit 'send', and had to wait mere seconds for her reply.

_I picked out the bits that matter... for the record, I miss you too. _

She ran a finger over his words as she tried to come up with an appropriate response to his reply. Before she could, her phone vibrated in her hand.

_What do you miss? _

Rolling her eyes, she instantly knew what to reply with.

_What's this? A new form of phone sex? Get your kicks somewhere else, Cowboy._

She giggled as she waited for the response.

_You wish, Montana, you only let us try that once... Scared Mac was gonna check the phone usage – goody goody... :P So c'mon, what do you miss? _

A smile tugged at her lips, knowing she wasn't going to win with him.

_I miss those blue eyes. How you kiss me at night. I miss the way we sleep. The taste of your smile... How we are together... I just miss everything about you. _

Placing her phone on her lap, she anxiously awaited his reply.

_Wow baby, tell me how you really feel. _

She growled as her fingers quickly replied. It wasn't quite the reply she'd been expecting: _Jerk. I was being nice. _

And a few moments later, his reply rang in: _I know babe. I was just messin'... this DOA is kicking my ass tonight and you're my only form of entertainment... _

She smirked as she hit reply. _... You sure he's a DOA? I'm pretty sure he's not supposed to have a pulse... let alone be kicking your ass. _

_Yes he's DOA. Smartass! _Was his simple reply.

She huffed, in-keeping to her response: _Wow... thanks. _

_It was a compliment! _

_Smartass is a compliment? What are you taking? _She was being silly and winding him up, but their flirting and banter was something she needed, and secretly, she was hoping and praying he carried on.

_No c'mon Linds, don't be like that... Let me back up, text me again and I won't be a smartass, okay? _

_Moment's gone now... _She knew she shouldn't, but she was getting a small kick out of winding him up the way she was.

_Lindsssss. _

A smile tugged at her lips_. How long did it take to type all of those s's at the end? _

_Long enough that you should take pity on me and my inability to keep my foot from going in my mouth. _

_LOL._ Short and simple, she figured – and it was true, she was giggling out loud at him.

_Is that an actual giggle, or a – fuck, he's such a moron... I'll say LOL and he'll feel good that he cracked a joke. _

A smile tugged at her lips. _Do some work, cowboy._

_I'm only a moron some of the time... I swear. And this guy is so past dead he doesn't give a shit what I do. I wanna talk to you, Linds. Don't do some work, me..._

Suppressing her heart swelling in her chest at his honesty, she let out a giggle before quickly responding. _You just spent six hours with me Danny. You're at work now. I shouldn't have even text you what I did. _

_Everyone does it. _He reasoned reply said.

_Well, we're not everyone. _

_You're not kidding there. I guess you're right though. I should do some work... I'm not impressed about it though! I'm glad you text me, babe. It really made my night. I love you... and for the record, what you said to Alyssa... you have NO idea how glad I am. _

She took a deep breath, her heart sinking a little at their texting session slowly coming to a close. _Well... it's true. I do want to marry you. Just stop fucking up, okay? Be the guy I want and need you to be, please Danny... Stop making me miss you. _

_Done. _

It was one word; but it was a word that filled her with a contented feeling she hadn't let herself feel in what seemed like one hell of a long time.

Love.

Tucking her phone in her sweats pocket, Lindsay stood from her spot on the couch and rubbed her belly a little, lulling their little girl to sleep. As she approached the bedroom Lindsay took a moment to stand in the doorway, just looking at the bed. She bit her lip in contemplation before padding to the right hand side. Placing her phone on the side, she let out a contented sigh as she peeled back the covers and snuggled in.

Sometimes, his side was just better. The pillow smelt of him. The sheet smelt of him. His bedside table was filled with his things. His warmth (although it was impossible) was still there.

He made her feel safe, despite everything they'd been through. And, as her eyes fluttered shut she succumbed to sleep with a smile on her face. Content that tomorrow would hopefully be a better day for the both of them.

* * *

**I hope them texting wasn't too confusing. I tried (believe me, it broke my brain at 1am in the morning!) to make it so that it flowed in that you'd know exactly who was saying what... but it's now 2am, so I've just given up and winging it. :P **

**Thoughts? Comments? Coffee for tomorrow morning? Anything is appreciated! :)  
Thanks for reading! **


	35. Keep Holding On

**A/N: This is by far the longest chapter I've written in one heck of a long time, but there was just so much of the story I wanted to tell, I figured why not. I don't want to give too much away but this chapter covers a topic, I was really wary of touching, to use to move the story along. (kind of like the use of Alyssa/Louie chapter). I've spent the entire day (literally, the best part of 12 hours on and off) writing this, and wanting to make sure it was... appropriate and sensitive I want to say? I hope that it's the case and my efforts didn't go to waste! hehe. Just know that I hope no one is offended by anything in this chapter. **

**On a slightly lighter note, I'm glad that the texting from last chapter seemed to work out. It was actually really fun, coming up with texts for them... it was just getting it to flow like I wanted it to proved to be the tough part. **

**Once again, I want to thank you all basically for your amazing and continued support. Some of the essays I receive in a review from you guys, analysing things that I've written and going into hidden meanings and what not are just... incredible. You have no idea how much they mean to me. Then of course the ones asking me whether I take cream or sugar with my coffee make my day just as much. Ahahaha Megs. :) **

**So as always, a special mention to: **rhymenocerous, Christina5139, rapidtetv, afrozenheart412, NothatRose, Meggie, brendanakai, uscrocks, iheartcsinewyork, Lindsay1234, bluelilyrose, jennifer32485, Dine89, messermonroeforever125, 18lzytwner, McGem and unlikelyRLshipper

**So, without further adieu; I imagine this would be the chapter you've all been waiting for, so enough of me blabbing. Enjoy. :) **

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* * *

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**Keep Holding On – Avril Lavigne**

_You're not alone, together we stand, I'll be by your side; you know I'll take your hand. When it gets cold and it feels like the end, there's no place to go, you know I won't give in. No I won't give in._

_

* * *

_

"He's probably not even in work today, Lindsay." Lindsay mumbled to herself as she made her way into the locker room. "Just another day of killing yourself with your thoughts, it'll be fun."

The truth was, although she was telling herself that she didn't particularly want to see him... she completely lying to herself. Over the past few days, she had tried to think of things to say so that she could spark a text conversation, but she failed. He had left the ball in her court, and while she appreciated it... she needed a little help to get it going again. The conversation they'd had through texts had sparked something within her, and she just couldn't shake it. She didn't realise until they'd spent the time apart, just how close they had truly become over the past few months through the duration of her pregnancy. Without him, her life consisted of very little. Sad, but it was true. Her life revolved around him, and his revolved around her.

She let out a laboured breath as she keyed in the code to her locker and opened it. She expected (and half hoped) for a note to slide out of her locker to greet her; but as her eyes scanned the locker, it seemed that it wasn't the case.

Her phone beginning to buzz in her pocket brought her from her thoughts. She dropped her bag in the bottom of her locker and pulled her phone from her pocket.

_Meet me in my office as soon as you can. _

Lindsay let out a breath as she shut her locker and turned on her heel, journey bound to Mac's office.

* * *

_Meet me in my office as soon as you can._

"Fuck." Danny whispered to himself. "He knows."

He dragged a hand down his face and let out an almighty sigh. Danny knew that Mac was a perceptive man to begin with, but in his relationship with Lindsay, it seemed that Mac had almost taken an interest in keeping them together. Danny knew that through their troubles with the aftermath of Ruben's death, Mac had been a pillar of strength for Lindsay, giving her the chance to speak to him as a friend she could trust, and Danny really appreciated that.

He just didn't know whether he could deal with the pressure of being under Mac's perceptive eye again.

Honestly, he was embarrassed with how he had treated Lindsay, and he knew that coming in separately and at different times for the same shift would probably spark questions about the state of their relationship together; but so far, it had been okay. They hadn't paraded their relationship in front of people beforehand; so they were none the wiser that there had been trouble for them recently. It was just his guilty conscious making him paranoid.

He stood from his seat and made his way out of the office and headed down the hallway to Mac's office. As he glanced up, his eyes met Lindsay's and a small smile spread on her face.

"Hey!" he called out to her, "Where you headed?"

"Mac's office... I'm getting my list of things to do I guess. You?"

Danny's eyes widened. "I'm going to Mac's office too."

"I guess everyone else is out on a case."

"... Or he might want to talk to us, Linds."

Crinkling her face in disbelief, Lindsay shook her head. "Dan, just because we know what's going on with us, doesn't mean Mac does. And anyway, even if he did, he'd mind his own business."

"Not if he thinks it's affecting our jobs, Linds."

"Well, it's not affecting mine, so..." She shrugged. "Is it affecting yours?"

"Well, if he's had a peek at the text messaging usage..."

"Jerk." She smirked as she slugged him in the arm. "You know how paranoid I am about that."

"I'm kidding... I tried not to let it." He nudged their conversation back to their original topic. "Other than our little session the other night, I've kept my head down, you know?"

"Well there you go. Nothing to worry about. Maybe it's just your guilty conscious." She teased.

"That's real nice." He growled playfully as they headed towards Mac's office, suppressing his smile at how she had inadvertently brought up what he'd just been thinking himself.

He let out a breath as he placed his hand on her lower back as they walked together. It was a bold move, but it was a risk worth taking.

"Danny..." Lindsay sighed in protest.

"Just... let me."

Rolling her eyes, Lindsay continued to walk towards Mac's office with Danny instep to her.

"Hey Mac," she beamed at her boss as they knocked on the opened glass door. "You wanted to see us."

"I did. Good Morning, guys... shut the door."

Danny swallowed as he shot a look at Lindsay.

Rolling her eyes, Lindsay took a seat on the couch. "So what's on the agenda for today, Mac?"

"Well..." he began slowly. "I have a case for the both of you."

"Together?" Danny asked as he took a seat next to Lindsay. "As in, both of us, together?"

"I know it's been a while, but yes Danny. A case together."

"Just me and him?" Lindsay asked, "Together?"

"Am I speaking too fast?" Mac laughed. "Yes, a case, for the both of you... together..."

"I'm going out in the field?" Lindsay asked, a wide grin spread across her face in excitement.

Mac returned the smile. "It's a small scale case; Flack has all the details though."

"Regardless, I don't really feel comfortable with her out in the field, Mac." Danny interrupted.

"That's why you're going with her, Danny." Mac explained. "The case is a domestic violence case, and I really don't want to send Stella, if you catch my drift? You, Lindsay, know firsthand of how she acted with a case a few years ago."

Lindsay nodded. "Grace something... staged a domestic violence."

"Right," Mac nodded. "And from the reports I've received the victim needs someone like you, Lindsay. So instead of processing and dealing with the crime scene, I want you to spend more time with the victim; get her statement, give her the support she needs right now."

"Linds does all of that anyway," Danny commented quietly.

"Hence why I couldn't think of a better pair to take this case."

Lindsay hesitated and looked at Danny. Lindsay's real concern was working in hand with Danny on such a sensitive case when they were a little rocky in their personal relationship. Mac however interpreted her hesitance as being unsure of going to a crime scene so late in her pregnancy.

"I couldn't think of anyone better for this job right now than you, Lindsay. And I wouldn't send you if there was even the smallest hesitance in my gut that this wouldn't be safe for the both of you. This niece of mine needs both of her parents to love her."

"Her?" Danny smirked. "Mac, look how Lindsay's carryin', the baby's a boy."

"Call it a hunch." Mac winked at Lindsay. "Keep me in the loop with what you find out."

"Mac, can I just ask... Why are we as crime scene going over? If the victim is alive..." Lindsay asked tentatively.

"There was a casualty." Mac sighed. "The victim's boyfriend."

"That instigated the domestic violence?" Danny interrupted. "Mac I'm not prepared to process someone who..."

"Danny, wait a second," Mac began. "I didn't finish. The victim's ex husband was the instigator."

"Bastard killed her boyfriend." Danny growled as he looked to Lindsay. "Bastard."

"Flack will fill you in on the rest, okay?" Mac nodded. "And Danny... Lindsay, if you wouldn't mind, could you try not to dance around in front of Stella. She doesn't know about this one, and I'd prefer it if she didn't."

"She'll only want to get involved," Danny nodded. "Got'cha, Boss."

"Directions," Mac passed Danny a handwritten account of the directions given to him from Flack. "Take the Avalanche in parking spot three, alright?"

"Sure thing." Danny smiled. "I'll go get my kit."

"Remember; keep me in the loop, guys. Let's relive two years ago." Mac teased. "My A team..."

Danny nudged Lindsay and smiled as they left the office together. "His A team, huh?"

"He doesn't mean that. He was just humouring your goofy grin. Boosting employee morale and all of that."

"No, he means it," Danny smirked as they walked in step together towards the locker rooms. "He meant his A team as in, we rock all."

"You're crazy." Lindsay giggled.

"I just might be," Danny nodded. "But I know you wouldn't have me any other way."

Before she had the chance to answer, he'd disappeared off down the hallway to gather their kits. As her eyes watched his retreating back, she agreed with him.

There was no way she'd have him any different.

* * *

"Whoa, we have the A team?" Flack gasped, astounded once Danny and Lindsay had stepped from the Avalanche. "Just you two?"

"Just us." Lindsay smiled. "And what is it with us being called the A team?" she turned and smiled amusedly at Danny. "Think we missed a staff meeting or something?"

"I'm thinkin' we did, you know." He smirked as he held up the crime scene tape for Lindsay to get underneath before following her.

"But... you're Danny and Lindsay." Flack lamely commented as he made his way under the tape after them.

"Can't get shit past you, can we?" Danny smirked as he placed his case on the floor. "I told you we should have worn masks to throw him off, Linds."

"Monroe, does he know you're in the field?" Flack smirked, nodding his head towards Danny. "Like is he aware of why you're here... to work?"

"I drugged him, so he's flying as high as a kite right now; so even if he is aware he probably wouldn't be able to do much."

"She's jokin', right?" Flack asked. "Like, she's psychin' me?"

"She might." Danny smirked as he pressed a kiss to Lindsay's temple. "We'll let you be the judge."

Flack nodded; trying to ignore the stiff reaction Lindsay had to Danny kissing her temple. Although the banter was in full form with them, he was aware that Danny had stayed the night at his a good week and a half ago after they'd had an argument. By the time he'd gotten home the next morning, Danny had gone and Flack had just assumed they'd fixed whatever had happened and he'd gone home to kiss and make up. Now though, under closer scrutiny, he wasn't sure whether he'd been right about that. Something told him that they weren't quite the Danny and Lindsay he'd come to know over the past seven months. The banter was there, but it had been there from day one, so that didn't mean much of anything. A kiss from Danny would have warranted one of two reactions from Lindsay. A warm smile that, although he would never admit it, made Flack proud of his best friends that they'd managed to find love in each other, or, she'd beat the crap out of him for the public display of affection.

She wouldn't... flinch like she had.

Something wasn't right. He just couldn't pinpoint _what._

"Flack..." Lindsay smiled softly, bringing him from his thoughts. "Are you going to tell us what went down? Or are we playing a guessing game?"

He nodded and straightened his back a little. "Victim's a 35-year-old, male, Caucasian... Suspect is the Vic's girlfriend's ex; he's got a rap sheet as long as my arm with things linked to her."

"Such as..." Danny pressed.

"Stalking, breaking and entering, he even went as far as sexual abuse a few years ago... And aside from the murder we have here, he violated his parole too; he wasn't supposed to be within 500 ft of her... shooting her boyfriend in their apartment I think violates that."

"No shit." Danny growled. "So where is he now?"

"I have Uni's canvassing the area for him and there's an APB out on him too."

"Give me fifteen minutes and I'll have all the evidence we need to keep him in Sing Sing for the rest of his life."

"Well, we've got time, so there's no need to break any speed records, Danno."

"I want this done, Flack. I want him away now."

"Alright Mr. Bravado. I hear ya..." Flack took a step back. "Look if you aren't up to this, Danno, I can..."

"I'm good." He nodded after an exchanged look from Lindsay. "I'm fine."

"Sure?"

"Positive."

Flack shook his head and turned his gaze to Lindsay. "The victim could really do with someone to talk to I think... She's pretty torn up."

"Enter Detective Monroe." Lindsay sighed sadly. "What exactly went down... just so I know when I go in there?"

"Well, the first on scene told me that she was nursing a shallow stab wound on her leg, broken wrist and some cuts and bruises, so I imagine she got a good beating until her boyfriend stepped in."

Lindsay nodded. "Has she said much?"

"Nothing." Flack shook his head. "After she called 911 she's been silent. Just sitting and staring off into space. Even when the EMTs wanted to move her to the hospital, she refused, non verbally of course."

"Her boyfriend was just murdered in front of her eyes... I'm surprised that's all she's doing." Lindsay commented before furrowing her brow. "Did they get her to the hospital?"

"Nope." Flack shook his head. "They bandaged her up and all but begged her to go get checked, but she wouldn't leave him."

Lindsay nodded slowly as she mentally prepared herself for what was waiting for her.

Noticing both of his friend's hesitance, Flack plastered his lopsided grin on his face and put an extra side of cheery in his voice. "Alright Team Messer, off you go... work your magic."

Both Danny and Lindsay flashed a smile in Flack's direction as they continued up the stairs of the apartment building

"Hey... hey..." Danny whispered after Lindsay picked her a pace a little quicker than usual. "Whoa," he whispered as he clasped his hand over her's. "Are you gonna be okay?"

"I'm gonna be fine."

"You sure?"

"Positive Danny... This is nothing like what happened..."

"I know, baby." He whispered. "But, she's traumatised just like you were."

"I was sixteen, and it was a long time ago."

"I just don't want you in a situation where you feel uncomfortable."

"She's relying on me, Danny. Mac's relying on me... Don't start this protective crap with me. Not now."

"I'm not... I didn't..."

"I'm sorry." Lindsay sighed as she observed the look in Danny's eyes. "I know what you were doing; you were just... being you; I didn't mean to snap. I promise, I'll be fine."

"Give me a nod if you're not, alright? I'll get you out of there before you can blink."

"Let's just get this done with, okay?"

Nodding silently, Danny followed Lindsay's lead into the apartment.

Observing the scene quickly, Lindsay's eyes flashed over their DOA, laid in the open plan kitchen. Making a conscious effort, Lindsay looked over the blood pool gathered around him as she took in the chaos of their surroundings. It was obvious that there had been quite the struggle just through the up turned items that laid, mostly broken, on the floor of the apartment.

"Detective Monroe," A young Rookie poked her from her thoughts. "If you're looking for the girlfriend, we have her in the living room."

Lindsay nodded and thanked the young officer. She tentatively headed over into the room to the side of the open plan area she'd previously been in. At first glance, it was almost an exact replica of her old apartment, before she had moved in with Danny. Pictures were scattered everywhere; on the walls, on the bookcases, TV unit, coffee table... If it was a surface, it had a photograph on it. And judging by the quick look she'd gotten of the victim, his girlfriend, just like Lindsay, had ensured that almost every picture contained her other half.

She took a deep breath as she took one last chance to mentally prepare herself for the fight ahead.

"I'm Dete... I'm Lindsay." Lindsay introduced herself as she took a seat next to the broken woman on the couch.

"Jennifer."

"Jennifer, I'm so sorry for your loss."

The woman turned; her bloodshot eyes meeting Lindsay's warm brown ones. She nodded in acknowledgement before casting her eyes back down to the carpet.

Lindsay sat waiting. She wasn't about to push her into a conversation, but hoped that she might just be the person Jennifer opened up to.

"How far along are you?"

Lindsay glanced at her stomach and naturally her hand fell to her bump. "Seven months..."

Jennifer nodded thoughtfully. "It's a wonderful feeling."

"You have children?" Lindsay asked.

"Not really." Jennifer let out a long, laboured breath. "John and I were expecting but... I lost the baby."

Lindsay's heart sunk at the woman's admission. Honestly, she couldn't comprehend how it would feel to lose her's and Danny's child. As she cast her mind back to when she was sat in her bathroom, terrified about the positive pregnancy test that she held in her hand, she couldn't imagine her life being any different. Once it was confirmed, that had been it; she was going to be a Mom, no matter how scared she was or how hard it would be; she was going to be her son or daughter's mother. And to have that feeling taken away was something that she couldn't even bare to think about. "I... I'm so sorry." She finally said, "I have no idea how that must have felt. I really don't."

"It was a pretty big hit." Jennifer shrugged. "Especially how..." swallowing the lump in her throat, Jennifer blinked away the tears that pooled in her eyes. "Tim was the reason..." She barely managed to choke out before swiping the tears from her cheeks. "I'm sorry... I just... It's still hard."

Lindsay reached forward and took a Kleenex from tissue box that sat on the table. She handed it to Jennifer before retaking her seat. "You don't have to be sorry, Jennifer."

Jennifer nodded as she blew her nose and fell back into the silence there was between them. In Lindsay's mind, she had labelled Jennifer as a woman, but there was something in her eyes that told Lindsay she wasn't actually as old as she looked. Nor was she as strong as she looked. She was just... broken.

"It happens." Jennifer shrugged, breaking her silence. "I was just... in the wrong place at the wrong time."

Lindsay inwardly cringed as she imagined all the potential and possible scenarios that could have happened in order for her to lose her child. If her ex was involved, Lindsay could only see it ending in tears and even more heartbreak than would be expected with the loss of a child.

"John really was my pillar of strength through it. We were looking to adopt, but me having my past was a big bump in that road for us."

"John being your boyfriend."

"Yeah. My John."

"Was it long ago?"

"Last year... So enough time has passed. And now..." She murmured. "And now this... I really don't know what I'm going to do without him."

Lindsay bit her tongue as she felt the words 'I'm sorry' tumbling from her lips. Sorry wasn't good enough, but it was all she had. That and she had to somehow get her statement of events, and both were the last things that Jennifer would want to hear.

"You want a statement don't you?"

"No." Lindsay said shaking her head, completely disregarding her previous thoughts. "Not right now I don't."

Jennifer turned to look Lindsay in the eyes, and as she did she saw a crooked smile tug at her lips. "Thank you."

"I don't know what it feels like to be in this situation, so I'm not going to pretend I do," Lindsay began, "But I've been in my own situation and I know how much I didn't want to relive everything."

"What happened?" Jennifer hadn't missed a beat before she asked.

Lindsay let out a long, laboured breath, steadying herself to share. "I watched my four friends being murdered. Ten years later I had to testify at the trial; to me it made it feel like it had happened all over again."

"How old were you when it happened?"

"Sixteen."

"The same age I was when I met Tim."

Lindsay nodded contemplatively.

"At least neither of us had a good year when we were sixteen."

Lindsay nodded and licked her lips.

"How did you get through it?"

Turning and glancing at where Danny was currently stood, sketching the scene the apartment she let a small smile tug at her lips, "Him." she pointed towards him. "He got me through it."

"You met when you were sixteen?"

"Oh no, I didn't meet him for years after... But it was after I met him was when the healing process began."

"That's how John was with me. The moment we met, we clicked. He promised me that he'd make sure I was safe with him; that he'd fight to the death to keep me away from the guy that had taken so much of me away. He apparently wasn't kidding."

"He kept his promise." Lindsay whispered as she offered Jennifer another tissue.

"I left." Jennifer whispered as she nursed her broken wrist, it was almost as if she was trying to explain the mess she had found herself in. "He didn't like it."

"Who, Tim?"

"Yeah... He somehow thought I'd betrayed him by leaving... He didn't get that what he was doing to me was killing me."

"You got out, that's all that matters." Lindsay reasoned.

"With John paying the price. It's all surreal now. He's gone, and I wonder whether..." Jennifer paused to find the words she wanted to use. "I know it was the right thing to do, I just... sometimes I feel like it was the wrong decision... to leave."

"Whatever your decision was, it was the right decision. You leaving ultimately saved your life, and John made sure he had a hand in that."

"I know it was the right decision," Jennifer nodded tearfully. "I think where I went wrong was getting John involved in this mess. He didn't deserve to be dragged into this."

"Neither did you though. This wasn't in yours or John's power to control, this was the result of Tim crossing lines that he shouldn't have been able to. He should have been stopped the second he laid a finger on you."

"You're absolutely right, but all of that is a mute point because I'm still here and John isn't. This was my battle to fight, and he's gone, and he's not coming back."

Lindsay sat back and let out a breath.

"I just sometimes think that I should have been stronger. I should have walked away quicker."

"You never know how strong you are until being strong is the only chance you have." Lindsay reasoned. "You were strong Jennifer. Trust me. You were strong."

Jennifer shook her head. "If I were strong the second he touched me I should have been out the door."

"But the promises are convincing... The heartfelt 'I'm sorry' makes you think it was a one-time deal. And then once it's happened once, the second it happens again that terror sets in, taking away your options. The fact that you overcame that fear shows how strong you are."

Jennifer swiped at her tears. "I didn't get to say goodbye. I watched him die for me, but I never got the chance to tell him I loved him and that I was sorry he got mixed up in all of this."

"He knew that. He did." Lindsay said simply. "And I swear to you," she continued, lowering her voice to a mere whisper as she took Jennifer's hands. "I will personally see to Tim paying for what he's done to the two of you. Detective Messer and I. We'll make sure he spends the rest of his life facing up to what he's done. I know it doesn't bring John back, and if I could trade them, I would; but I can't do that, so I can do the next best thing."

"Thank you." Jennifer whispered. "I really needed... someone that... understood. I couldn't stomach the thought of some stone cold officer taking my statement."

"We do that when you're ready." Lindsay assured Jennifer. "And not a moment before."

Swallowing the emotional lump in her throat, Jennifer cast her eyes over to Danny. "Your husband? Have you ever come close to losing him?"

Lindsay glanced over her shoulder. "Emotionally yes... physically... no."

Nodding thoughtfully, the woman's blue eyes scanned over Danny as he paid complete concentration to the victim as he lay on the floor. "He looks troubled." She observed.

"Some cases just hit you hard." Lindsay explained, deciding to leave out their personal issues at hand being a big factor of his current drive.

"He loves you."

Lindsay licked her lips, inwardly debating her morals. She knew she was probably stepping over a few boundaries; allowing herself to be personal with a victim, but Mac had specifically sent her; and this woman's life was in ruins – if she wanted to talk about the price of fish, Lindsay was more than willing to listen.

"You can see that?"

Jennifer nodded. "Yeah, it's very clear how much he cares for you. As soon as you walked in I got that vibe that he's very protective. John gave off the same vibe. How long have you been married?"

"He's only my boyfriend actually." Lindsay admitted. "We're not even engaged."

Jennifer cringed. "I didn't realise..."

"It's my decision." Lindsay smiled as a reassurance that Jennifer hadn't offended her in some way. "We're taking baby steps right now."

"I see... Well, it doesn't matter what you are to each other, so long as you're happy together."

Lindsay swallowed the lump that had collected in the back of her throat. "I'll be right back."

Slipping out of the apartment, Lindsay glanced up and down the hallway as she searched for somewhere to let out a few emotions that had piled up within her. Her eyes fell on the stairwell, currently untouched by the NYPD. She pushed herself off the wall and darted as best she could down the hallway and marvelled at the feeling of finally feeling a little bit of emotional freedom to let go the tears that had built up.

One of the first things she'd learnt was to never take the case to heart. This however was one area that she still had to perfect, reminding herself on the cases that did take her down, that she was only human.

For her, the past week and a half had been hell. Her thoughts had driven her crazy; as had her instance in keeping Danny at an arm's length the entire time. His words had burnt her and pushing him away was the only way she knew how to deal with that, while making him suffer at the same time. She swiped away a tear. All the horrible things he'd done amounted to nothing in comparison to what Jennifer had gone through. She'd suffered years of abuse, worry and heartache at the hands of her ex, and had now lost the man that had glued her heart together and put the pieces of her life back together. Lindsay had been at the receiving end of a few hurtful things. Lindsay wasn't pushing what Danny had done aside; nor was she directly comparing them to the people she'd been faced with, she was simply rethinking her take on their relationship.

A relationship she desperately wanted with the person she adored with her entire heart.

As much as Danny had the ability to hurt her, he would never, ever do what the Tim did. With him, she was safe. She knew that even in his most vicious rage, laying a finger on her would never even cross his mind. Verbally, he could shatter her heart. Emotionally, he could break her in two. But physically... he'd never, ever do a thing to her.

The fact of the matter was that she didn't realise how much she had with him, until she saw how little someone else had.

Upon hearing the creak of the door opening, Lindsay quickly cleared her face of all tears and turned to look at whoever had just interrupted her thoughts.

As her eyes fell on him, her stomach leapt to her throat in relief. "Danny." She sobbed, a fresh batch of tears hitting full force.

"Linds, what's the matter? I saw you up and leave and... what happened?"

"I can't do this." Lindsay whispered as she crumbled in Danny's arms. "I need you with me. I need you at home."

She could feel his arms pulling her into his chest as best he could, considering how their child was doing a fine job of keeping them separated. He pressed a kiss to her temple. "Alright."

"I don't want to be mad at you anymore." She continued as tears slipped down her cheek. "I miss you, and I can't deal with you not being there with me. Not anymore."

"Lindsay, baby..." he whispered as he pressed a kiss to the tip of her nose. "You want me home with you? I'm there."

"I'm sorry I pushed you away for so long, I was just so hurt that I wanted to hurt you. But I realise now that you'd never _hurt me, _hurt me, and I'm sorry I refused to let you..."

He held a finger to her lips, silencing her for a moment. "You have nothing to be sorry about, okay?" With his free hand, he reached into his back jeans pocket and pulled out a packet of tissues. Upon her raised, wondering eyebrow, he chuckled and pulled one out and handed it to her. "I figured some tears would be shed."

"You did?"

"I know you." He whispered. "Granted, I didn't see you giving us another shot in a stairwell but I saw you getting upset about this case. There was nothing I could do to stop you getting upset, so I figured I would get something to help me when it did happen."

Lindsay dabbed her eyes with the tissue and took a deep breath.

"I know you have a lot to say to me right now," Danny said as he pressed a kiss to her forehead. "But we have something else we need to focus on right now. We'll talk later, okay?"

Lindsay swallowed and nodded.

"Keep your chin up okay, Montana? She needs you."

Lindsay blinked through her tear filled eyes at him. She watched him as his eyes glittered with the support he had for her, despite their own personal issues weighing heavy on both their minds. Usually he'd take a seat and have an hour long conversation going around in circles as he made the same point seven times; but somehow, their roles had reversed themselves. It was she, desperate to spill her feelings, as he made them wait. It was different. It was actually a... a welcome change.

"You're not alone in this." He reminded her. "I'm right there, 'k? You and I can stand together, side by side and we can nail this guy, Linds."

Taking his hands, Lindsay stood on her tiptoes, enabling her to place a warm kiss to his lips. It was just that; a kiss, but it was all the courage she needed to carry on. "Thank you." She whispered.

"Anytime." He whispered as he softly squeezed her hand that was holding his. "Now, wipe your eyes and let's get her statement, okay?"

Lindsay nodded.

"You can do this, babe. I know you can." He pressed a lingering kiss to the tip of her nose. She tilted her head slightly and managed to capture his lips.

"We'll talk tonight, after we move you back in." She smiled brightly.

"There's the smile I love." He whispered. "See you back in there."

And with that, Danny turned on his heel and headed back into the hallway.

It hadn't been the reunion she had expected; but for the situation they were currently in, it fit. They would have time to talk; and they would. Right now they just had other priorities and Lindsay knew that. The fact that they had the promise of things being better for them was a prospect that spurred Lindsay on. It gave her a new found burst of strength and energy to be able to cope with the loss Jennifer was dealing with.

She wiped her eyes one last time before pushing up off of the wall she had been leaning on and headed out into the hallway.

"Linds! Just the girl."

The door hadn't even shut and she was already turning to greet Flack.

"What's up?" She inquired, her raspy voice failing her a little.

"I bought these for you, Danny and the Vic," Flack offered Lindsay three water bottles.

"Thanks Flack." Lindsay smiled tearfully.

"No problem, kiddo." He returned the smile as he caught a tear with the pad of his thumb. "Keep holdin' on, Linds... She needs you there for her."

"Danny just gave me a pep talk." Lindsay smiled. "A forehead kiss never fails to do the trick."

"On the job as well. Tsk." Flack teased lightly as he walked in step with her, back to the apartment. "Do some work, slacker." He muttered in her ear as she crossed the threshold of the apartment.

She passed Danny his water silently, offering him a smile on the side before making her way back to the living room and retaking her seat next to Jennifer. "Sorry about that. I thought you could do with some water."

"Thanks."

"So, where were we?" Lindsay gently nudged their conversation.

"I'm ready." Jennifer whispered. "To give you my statement."

Capping the lid on her water, Lindsay placed it on the floor before turning to her bag and grabbing the correct forms, clipboard and pens from her bag, Lindsay flashed a reassuring smile. "You're not alone in this." She began as she turned and balanced the witness account paperwork on her knee. "I'm here with you every step of the way."

"We can take baby steps." Jennifer smiled weakly.

Lindsay clicked her pen as she handed it to Jennifer.

Whether it be through some higher power, or Mac's meddling ways; Lindsay knew that there was a reason she was where she was; as heartbreaking as the case was, it had showed her that no matter what happened between herself and Danny, he'd be there by her side, refusing to give up on them. He'd just keep holding on.

And now, she had the confidence that they'd make it through.

Just like they always did.

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**I hope you liked that chapter as much as I loved writing it. ****Any thoughts and comments are appreciated. **

**Thanks for reading. **


	36. I'll Die Trying

**A/N: Wow guys, thank you all so much for your wonderful and supportive feedback from last chapter. It really was a touchy thing for me to try, so I appreciate the faith you guys had in me. :) I hope the work I put into it paid off and you all enjoyed it.**

**Now, onwards and upwards, eh? T****hank you to all of you that reviewed. All your comments and thoughts were lovely to read and a lot of them gave me food for thought! Special mention to:** Christina5139, Sweet LIL loz, jennifer32485, brendanakai, uscrocks, messer4ever, Lindsay1234, FoxPhile, bluelilyrose, ioanhoratio, Dine89, 18lzytwner, csirangergirl19, unlikeyRLshipper, ZoeyBug, dantana4ever and finally MCG.

**ETA**: messermonroeforever125... **you snuck that one in on me while I was updating! hehe... so here you go, a special mention all to yourself!... I just hope you see it now! hehe. **

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**This chapter is set after the case is finished to clear up any confusion.**

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**I'll Die Tryin' - Lonestar**

_I am just a man, I may never be a hero... but I'm a rock you can lean on. If I don't love you like you deserve; if I don't stop every tear you're cryin'; if I don't make your life, a Heaven on this earth, I'll die tryin'._

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"You feelin' better now, babe?"

Lindsay glanced up at the sound of the voice, coming from the couch. She continued to towel dry her hair as she padded into the living room; a small smile on her face. "Yeah, now I do."

"Good." He smiled as he turned the TV on mute before turning in his seat to face her as she made her way towards him. "I could see today took a lot out of you."

She nodded. "It did... It was one hell of a day."

"I bet you're exhausted."

He was answered by a well timed yawn. "Did you manage to unpack all of your stuff?"

He nodded as she snuggled into his side. "Was that your way of nudging us towards a conversation we need to have?"

She blushed under his gaze as he wrapped a protective arm around her shoulder. "I thought it was going to be a little more subtle than that..."

"Good try, but I know you. I could hear you thinking about a way you could start the conversation when you were in the shower."

"You heard me thinking? You do realise that's impossible."

"It shows how much I know you; that's all." He smiled before tucking a wet strand of hair behind her ear, out of her face. "Where do you think we should start?"

"I have a few things I want to get out." Lindsay admitted.

Danny nodded silently.

"At the scene, you saw me at my weakest point... I guess being pregnant didn't help, but Jennifer and all of her troubles had me thinking."

"Understandable." Danny nodded.

"But now in the clear of day I've had a chance to clear my mind and think, and while words don't express how glad I am you're back home with me... things need to change."

"Okay, I figured that. And I agree, things do need to change."

"Not just things, Danny. You. You need to change."

"I'm not sure whether I understand." Danny admitted. He knew it had been a long time coming; Lindsay finally demanding a change in him. He just wasn't sure whether he was prepared for all that he was about to hear.

"Now, I want you to hear me out when I say this. You had time to tell me a lot in your letter, but now it's my turn, okay?"

"Absolutely." Danny nodded.

"At the scene I talked myself into believing that although you could break me in two emotionally and mentally I was, I guess... lucky that you'd never hurt me physically..."

"Hurt you physically? Lindsay you have to be insane!" Danny interrupted with concern on his face. "You don't think that do you? I would never, ever lay a finger on you, and you know that."

"Yeah, and that's my point, Danny. I should also be able to say that you'd never hurt me emotionally or mentally either. I shouldn't be reasoning that it was okay for you shatter my heart because you don't beat me." Lindsay inwardly flinched at the look of devastation of Danny's face as realisation set in at what she was telling him.

"You don't think that I..."

"I genuinely don't think that you mean to, Danny... I know that you'd never intentionally set out to hurt me, but you do. Surely you know that?"

"Well, yeah, I know that... And I hate that I do it. I just... I know what gets you goin' and for some reason I just..." He dragged his fingers through his hair. "I didn't realise you felt like this."

"You want me to be honest, don't you?"

He took a moment to think about it, but nodded slowly. "Honesty is the best policy."

"I do feel like this so that means that things have to change."

"I understand that... but Linds, you don't think that I..."

Lindsay simply bit her lip, effectively avoiding actually answering him.

"You do, don't you? You think that... Fuck, I can't even say it. Lindsay, please tell me you don't think that. Please."

"I don't," Lindsay finally said, confidently. "And perhaps what I mean isn't all that clear. I'm not saying you're some horrific boyfriend that abuses me emotionally and mentally, Danny... That's not what I'm saying at all. It's just sometimes you fall back into being the hot-headed New Yorker that I somehow along the way fell in love with, and you need to get a hold of your temper. I want you to think about what you say before you say it. One issue here is what you say, but the other one is how often you say the things you do. How much longer am I going to have to go through your tirades and then apologies, Danny?"

"Our time apart taught me that I have to knock all of that off, baby. It did. You can ask my Dad."

"I'm not about to call your Daddy up, babe. I know that the time apart for us was good." She paused. "I'm sure I've said things to you in the past that hurt you, but because you're not as sensitive as I am, it went over your head. That doesn't mean it's okay. We _both_ need to think about what we're saying in an argument, because when we're good, we're so good Danny... we are. Just, in our arguments, we say some hurtful stuff that burns the both of us deep; and it needs to stop."

Lindsay let out a sigh as Danny cast his eyes to the floor, tears pooling in them at the harsh reality of his actions. Her actions. Their actions.

"Look, listen to me," She whispered as she tucked her index finger underneath his chin and nudged him so that he faced her. "I'm not saying that I'm some victim, and working the case today made me realise how terrible you are; what I'm saying is that you really need to think about things; you need to think about how you treat me all of the time, whether it be what you say or what you do. Give me the same respect I give you."

Danny took a deep breath as he took a mental step back from the conversation to collect his thoughts.

"I love you Danny. You know that," Lindsay continued, "and you have to know how much these past two weeks have killed me. It's been so hard being away from you... but I had to. I had to get my mind in the right place to deal with what you said to me."

"You know that what I said wasn't how I really feel, right? It was just in the heat of the moment. You know you how much I love you and our baby."

Lindsay nodded. "I know that now, but at the time I didn't... And that's my point Danny; you need to think about things. Put yourself in my shoes and think about how you would feel if the tables were turned."

"Lindsay, baby, believe me I have... And I'm not proud of how I was with you. That's why I backed off. I knew exactly what I had done. I knew that I'd hurt you and crossed a line; and because of that you needed time."

"And I'm glad you did. It means a lot to me that you gave me that respect... I just need you to promise me, Danny. Promise me that things will change. Promise me you'll be the guy I need you to be, and I'll be the girl you need; because I can't keep doing this." She choked out. "Not anymore... it hurts too much when you break my heart and I'm running out of superglue."

"Done." He whispered as he wrapped his arms around her tightly. "It's done Lindsay. I promise - hell, I swear on my Mother; I'm done... no more of the shit I used to pull. That part of our relationship is over. Done."

"I'm trusting you here, Danny. Please, please don't break this promise to me. Please?"

He held out his pinky finger and sought out hers as he latched them together. "You can't break a pinky promise;" he whispered as he pressed a kiss to their joined pinkies. "You taught me that."

"Thank you." She whispered as he let go of their pinkies and wrapped her in his arms again. She let herself bask in the feeling of his protective embrace; feeling like a weight had been lifted from her shoulders.

Danny pressed a kiss to her temple and tried to take in a deep breath, but felt like he couldn't. It was like he was floundering in deep waters and couldn't get a deep enough breath to keep him from drowning. He had a lot he wanted to say to her; a lot he needed to say to her.

He needed to take what was wrong and begin to make it right again.

"I listened to you," his wary voice sounded, making Lindsay turn in his embrace slightly. "And I know I've already said a lot... But I really want you to just listen to me, baby. I have some things I need to say too."

Lindsay nodded; giving him the chance to start uninterrupted.

Biting his lip, Danny tried to find the words to start off what he wanted to say.

"I know that the person I've been over the past two years really hasn't been the type of guy that deserves you. I cheated, I pushed you away, I got you pregnant, I freaked out... I haven't the stand up guy that I wanted to be. But despite all of that I'm a guy that loves you and every day I wonder how in the hell out of everyone in the world, it's me that you picked to fall in love with... and have a baby with."

"There's no one else I would have picked." She blushed before letting him continue.

Danny pressed a kiss to her temple. "I'll be honest babe; I have no clue why you take me back the way you do, and the only reason I've been able to come to is that you love me just as much as I love you, maybe even more to put up with the shit that you do. I don't show you how much I love you in the way you deserve, but that's something I'm going to work on. I'm going to be the guy that you need, in fact, no... I'm going to be the guy you _want_... wanting and needing are two different things. You can need me because you have no other choice... I'm going to be the guy that you _want_ for the rest of your life."

Finally, the conversation had taken it's toll on her overly emotional self and Lindsay buried her head in his chest as she let out a small sob. Her fingers curled around the material of his shirt as she whimpered. He knew that she needed a few moments to cry her emotions out, so he began to wait for her calm down, and did so by rolling his fingers up and down her back, soothing her in the way he knew worked for her.

She eventually sniffled and wiped away the tears on her cheek as her bloodshot eyes met his, silently telling him to continue.

"I didn't mean to make you cry," He sighed sadly as he pressed a kiss to a stray tear. "You good?"

She nodded.

"Okay." He took a deep breath, finding his composure and focus again. "I'm never going to be that hero who swoops in and saves the day, Lindsay, but I can be a rock when you need someone to lean on. I can be the person you want to wipe your tears away... I can be him, Lindsay." His hands cupped her face and with the pads of his thumbs, he swiped her tears away. "I am him. And I know that I've hurt you so much in the past. I know that... Granted, I didn't know the way that you really felt, but I'm glad I do now, because that's something I can fix. It's something I want to fix before it's too late. I'll die trying to be the person you want to spend the rest of your life with. I'll die trying, Lindsay. That much I can promise you."

"I needed to hear that." Lindsay whispered tearfully. "Although, don't try too hard, I don't want you dying anytime soon."

"I'm sorry, Linds." He pressed a kiss to her forehead.

She nodded against him.

"No, I'm really sorry. I should have never done what I did."

"Danny..." she sighed, "you're doing it again."

"Doin' what?" he asked, puzzled. "What am I doin'?"

"Making the same point and saying the same thing a million times." She turned and cupped his face with her two hands. "You're sorry, I know you are, and I accept your apology."

He let out a breath before itching forwards and capturing her lips in a soft kiss. "I love you," he whispered in between kisses. "More than you'll ever know."

"I love you too." She smiled as she basked in the feeling of him home with her, sat on their couch with the loads they were carrying off their chests; finally. "I'm tired." She whispered, fighting a yawn and his kisses at the same time. "Take me to bed and kiss me to sleep," her long eyelashes were fluttering, rendering him motionless at her childlike pleading.

"Kiss you to sleep?" Danny repeated as his stomach fluttered. "That's new."

"It's all I wanted while you weren't here. Just to have you kiss me and promise me that things with us would be okay."

"In that case, I can most definitely kiss you to sleep."

He stood and instantly took her hand, helping her up from the couch. He interlaced their fingers together, and moulded his chest into her back as he let her lead the way to the bedroom.

They were far from being the couple they used to be. But that was okay; neither wanted to be a part of that couple anymore. They didn't want the uncertainty of something breaking them in two every other month. They didn't want the hurtful words being tossed back and forth. They didn't want the disruption of their fiery tempers to affect the upbringing of their child.

They weren't just Danny and Lindsay anymore; they were soon to be Mommy and Daddy. And eventually, husband and wife. And in the roles of Mommy and Daddy... there wasn't time to throw nasty words back and forth. That's why as they collapsed in bed together; kissing to oblivion, they realised that even thought the time apart had killed them, it had been exactly what they needed. It had shown them that the other was determined to make their relationship work, for the sake of their child, but more importantly; themselves. It had shown them that they couldn't function without the other.

The time apart for them had been hard; but more than necessary. In reality it probably should have been done a lot earlier, but it had been done and that was all that mattered. Spending the time they had together over her pregnancy had offered them the foundation they needed, which now gave them a solid idea of the type structure they wanted (and needed) in their relationship; consisting of a whole lot of love, surrounded by trust, honesty and respect.

Years from now, they'd look back on all the hurtful words and suppress a small smile at the fact that it had led them to where they would be in the future. Happy. Together. And in love.

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**So that's it... NO! that's not _it_, it... I have 80 something pages to post yet... but that's it (sort of) for this particular arc. I really hope you've enjoyed the ride. I know I have absolutely loved writing everything, so any thoughts that you've had, I'd love to know. I hope it wasn't dragged out too long/resolved too quickly for anyone... but as they say, I'm the author... and I was running out of break up songs that fit :P **

**So yeah, thank you for reading and any thoughts/comments/anything is greatly appreciated. **


	37. Someday When I Stop Loving You

**A/N: Howdy folks. It's probably about that time that I give you guys an update. This one has been written for weeks, but figured that in the middle of a relationship meltdown it probably didn't fit that well, so it had to be put on the backburner, but considering what I put DL through, I thought it was a nice break for them... I'm not too sure about it. Something seemed not to fit for me, but I've given up with the editing, adding and tweaking. **

**I also want to take the opportunity to just tackle you all and hug you as I thank you for all of the lovely comments. Some of them really warmed my heart. Well, all of them actually. I'm lucky to have guys like you feeding the muse. :) **

**ANYWAY... enough rambling. Thank you to all of you that reviewed (and those of you that read, but didn't review... I appreciate you guys too!) Special mention to: **rhymenocerous, Christina5139, rapidtetv, McFluffsters, brendanakai, uscrocks, Lindsay1234, jennifer32485, lindsayjomonroe, bluelilyrose, Dine89, NothatRose, 18lzytwner, messermonroeforever125, dantanamessercsiny and unlikelyRLshipper

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**Someday When I Stop Loving You – Carrie Underwood (or should it be Carrie Fisher now that she's married? hehe)**

_I remember that night we laid in bed__, n__aming all our kids that we hadn't had yet__; o__ne for your grandma and one for mine__ - s__aid we'd draw straws when it came time._

_

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_

"I don't like it."

"What?" Danny chuckled as he looked over the edge of his laptop at the opened webpage of baby names that both he and Lindsay were looking through, "What's wrong with Isabella?"

Lindsay rose her eyebrow.

"We could shorten it to Bella... Bella's cute."

"I don't like it."

"Wh... haha!" Danny chuckled as he shook his head. "Twilight."

"I'm not naming my baby after that... that saga!"

"It's a book, darlin'." Danny smirked as he slowly scrolled down the webpage.

"Do you know how many Isabella, Alice and Rosalie will be around now?"

"Considering you hate the books, I'm surprised you know so much."

"Veto on all things Twilight related." Lindsay growled.

"I'm not suggesting... I could have said Hermione..."

"I'd prefer no fictional characters."

"What about that." Danny suggested as he pointed to the screen, nudging her attention in a different direction.

"Madison? I hate that name."

"Tell me how you really feel." Danny smirked as he looked up to her as she curled into his side. "Why don't you like it?"

"It's too popular." Lindsay reasoned. "I don't want her to have to write Madison Messer on all of her work because there's seven other Madisons in her class... boys and girls. And anyway, I just don't like it."

"But Linds," Danny sighed, trying to push the name. "We could call her anything and that would be the case."

"Her initials would be M and M... She'd hate us."

"It'd be kinda cool." Danny smirked. "Funny if she didn't like chocolate."

"I want something we both love." Lindsay scowled at him. "Not something we're craving."

"I heard Amanda last week," Danny offered, realising he'd lost the fight with Madison. "What about something like that?"

"Amanda..." Lindsay crinkled her nose in contemplation. "Maybe for another couple; not for us. Not right now at least... it's a pretty name though. And it's along the lines of what I want; something more traditional like that."

Sighing, Danny closed his laptop and pushed it down the bed before tugging the covers up to their chins as they snuggled in bed; the rain bouncing down on the New York streets below. "Alright, let's go back to the beginning. Are there any names I've said that you like?"

"No," Lindsay sighed.

"Have you heard any names that you don't like?"

"Anything that there will be ten of in five years."

Danny rolled his eyes. "Okay, well is there someone we want to name her after... one of your friends' maybe?" he asked tentatively, treading lightly on the ground around the delicate subject.

Lindsay shook her head slowly, "No... No I don't think so. It's a nice thought though," She smiled as she laced her fingers through his before placing his hand on top of her stomach.

"Okay, that's three names we've narrowed down that we don't think will fit," he said, pressing a kiss to her temple.

"Get the laptop," Lindsay smiled. "I want to keep looking."

Sighing, Danny let go of her hand and dragged the laptop back up the bed and opened it. "How about I go down the list and you say yay or nay?"

"Nay? Can I just say no?"

"Say it in French if you so desire." He smirked. "Amelia?"

"No."

"Grace?"

"As her middle name, yes."

"Note that down then." Danny said as he passed her a notepad and pen. "We have a breakthrough. How about... hah! Stella's on here!"

"Is Lindsay?" She asked hopefully.

"No... Sorry babe."

"Ugh."

"Samantha?"

"Cute. Sam or Sammie... I guess it could go on the maybe list."

"Kaley?"

"Veto."

"Don't be turning this into a Ross and Rachel episode... I'm onto you." Danny growled as he prodded her nose with his finger. "Speaking of... What about Emma?"

"Nah."

"Lydia?"

"I like Lydia," Lindsay finally revealed. "In fact, I love Lydia."

"It's pretty..." Danny agreed as his eyes continued to scan the screen. "Isn't your Grandmother called Lydia?"

Lindsay broke out into a huge smile and nodded. "Yeah... She'd love her first granddaughter to be named after her."

"Put it on the list then."

"Do you like it?" Lindsay asked as she wrote the name on one of the many yellow lined paper pads they had lying around the apartment.

"I think it's pretty..." Danny shrugged.

"You don't like it, do you?"

"I wouldn't have said it if I didn't like it, Linds. I'm skipping over all the ones I don't like."

"Danny!" Lindsay cried. "What if I like one?"

"Then I'll veto it," he smirked.

"Scroll back up... you might have missed the name we want."

"Linds..."

"Do it!"

"Fine," Danny did as she said.. "I like Lucy."

"Lucy's pretty... wait, Lucy is your grandmother's name."

Danny smiled. "Well, you sparked a good idea, and the name is right here on the list. And Louie was named after my Nonna... although he denies it and swears blind it was just by chance. I mean we could call her Luciana and do it properly, but honestly, I prefer Lucy. Lucy means light... and I think she's the definite light in our lives already."

Lindsay smiled at the sentiment before furrowing her brow. "But I like Lydia."

"Well baby, as it stands right now, we don't know whether she is a he or he is a she... so we might be completely wrong in the names we're picking."

"Crap..." Lindsay sighed. "So let's pick boys names too... Read me the boys names..."

"There's quite the list."

"So..."

"But I thought you were convinced she's a she. You havin' sudden doubts?"

"No, but I know you sit there with your big book of boy names mapping out the baseball team you're planning on us having."

Danny blushed. "I do not..."

"I've seen you with your notebook, Daniel. I'm surprised you don't have numbers by the side of each kid."

"Okay boy name number one..." He smirked, desperately trying to change the subject. "Noah?"

"As much as I like the Notebook, no."

"Liam?"

"Cute."

"Nathan?"

"Cuter."

"Levi?"

"And you were doing so well..."

"Sorry, I got a little carried away with reading the names out... I'm seeing a lot of twilight characters, babe."

Lindsay huffed in response.

"I have an idea." Danny chuckled. "If the baby is a boy, we'll call him either Lyidon or Louie."

"Don't be ridiculous... Lydion isn't even a name, Danny."

"No one else would have that name though." Danny pointed out. "And it's like Lydia."

"I refuse to name my child something that we've made up..." Lindsay trailed off as her eyes widened in realisation. "That's why you said that; so we'd pick your name..."

"Well, we could always re-think Lydion... or we could come up with some boys' names we actually like other than Liam and Nathan, because honestly babe, I'm not wild about them..."

"I like Nathan..." Her hand fell to her stomach. "I think she's a girl... she's kicking me really hard. She doesn't like these boy names."

"He might be telling you he hates Nathan."

"You're mean."

"At least we have the girls names..." Danny offered, once again changing the subject.

"We do?"

"Yeah... Lucy and Lydia. Keep up, babe."

"But..." Lindsay sighed heavily. "But how are we going to pick her name?"

"We can draw straws."

Lindsay raised an eyebrow. "So I give birth, already taking the short straw, and then even after all of that pain and suffering, you get to name our daughter?"

"Well..." Danny swallowed. "If it works like that... I..."

Snuggling up to him under the covers, Lindsay sighed dramatically; a strategic ploy to get Danny to soften on his decision to draw straws. "Danny... sweetie.. baby... honey..."

"Whatever you want, it's a no." he peered down at his girlfriend, wary of her tone of voice and the excessive use of pet names. Looking into her eyes, he sighed - almost instantly caving upon her fluttering eyelashes. "Okay, what?"

"Shouldn't I at least get the chance to name our first baby?"

"Hell no!" Danny cried.

"But Danny..."

"No Linds, I ain't agreein' to that... what if you decide that we're only having one?"

Lindsay pressed a kiss to his shoulder; a grin plastered across her face as she did. "Then it'd suck for you."

"I'd just get you pregnant again..." Danny smirked.

"Good luck with that," she smirked with a playful glint in her eye.

"I don't need luck, my guys are warriors!"

"Hah!" Lindsay giggled. "You may never touch me again, depending on how bad my labour and delivery is. The best you'll get is me holding your hand."

Danny narrowed his eyes. "You wouldn't be able to resist me. A well placed kiss here and there and I've got you right where I want you."

"Well, don't bet on it – that's all I'm saying."

"You're screwing with me, right?"

Lindsay wiped the smile she had on her face and looked at him with no expression in her eyes. "I'm dead serious... I hope you enjoyed our sex life while it lasted."

"You're kidding." Danny insisted. "You are."

Lindsay didn't blink as he held her gaze.

"Fuck, you're not..."

"HAH! Psych!" She giggled. "Got'cha!"

Letting out a sigh of relief, Danny rolled his eyes at her antics. "I was just pretendin' that you had me believin' you."

"Bull." She giggled as she turned the laptop towards her and then pulled the notepad onto her lap. "I had you completely convinced. Therefore because of my amazing performance then I should get to name our baby."

"Um... no."

"Um, yes."

"Um... no." Danny smirked. "I'll tell you what, we'll both get a name lined up, and then when we meet her..."

"Oh him..." Lindsay added.

"When we meet our baby, we'll decide then. She might not even look like a Lucy... even though she totally will."

"Did you have to add the last little bit?" Lindsay growled playfully.

"Yeah, c'mon Linds, it's me... where would the fun be if I didn't wind you up?"

"Well, we'd have a lot less conversations." She smirked as she hooked her leg in-between his, entangling their bodies as one. "But Danny, I really want to name her."

"Well, we'll see."

Lindsay sighed dramatically. "I've been the one carrying her... I should at least be able to hear you call her Lydia for the rest of my life."

"But if we call her Lucy we'll all have names ending in Y."

"That's a pathetic reason." Lindsay snorted. "And technically, our names will end in R. Messer... R... Not Y."

"Wiseass, our first names; Danny, Lindsay and Lucy. You've got to admit that it's cute."

Lindsay wiggled her eyebrows. "So you tell me... and actually, if we to spell her name L-U-C-I-E- then that would be wrong... so hah!"

"Yeah but we're spelling it with a Y."

"Says who?"

"Says me." Danny growled playfully. "Got a problem with that?... wait, don't answer that."

"Fine."

Danny let out a contented sigh as Lindsay nestled her head on his shoulder. He took a moment from the banter to bask in the warmth that they shared underneath the covers as the thunder storm ceased to let up over the city. Even though they had only spent two weeks apart, it had made him appreciate what it was he had with Lindsay. He had banter and laughter that constantly kept him on his toes. They shared a warm bed on a cold and stormy night. They had a baby on the way... He had an entire life with her. And although he should have known, he hadn't realised all that he had until he had nearly lost it all.

"So what are we going to do Danny? We're no closer to picking names." Lindsay's voice broke his stream of thoughts.

"We'll draw straws." He shrugged. "And if she's a boy... then we'll just figure something out when we get there."

It wasn't the answer she wanted, but it was the answer she'd have to take. After a few more moments of silence, he shifted in his spot against their headboard of the bed as he shut down the laptop and placed it on his bedside table. He then took hold of the notebook that lay on Lindsay's lap and placed it on top of the closed computer. Finally, he turned on his side and laid down next to Lindsay so that he effectively towered over her as she lay on her back.

Fiddling with his fingers, she linked hers through his and placed them on her stomach once again. "Are you scared?"

"Scared?" Danny repeated, wanting to make sure he'd heard her right. "Scared of what?"

"Being a Daddy?"

Danny licked his lips. "I'm terrified."

Lindsay nodded as she gazed up at him. "Me too."

"You're scared of being a Dad? Linds, I don't think you've gotta worry about that..."

"Wiseass." She giggled as she slugged him in the chest. "I'm scared about being a Mom."

"We'll be fine." Danny assured her, despite his own insecurity. "We'll get there; I'm sure as soon as we hold her we'll know what to do."

"We will?"

"How do you think everybody else manages it? Our parents managed. Their parents managed... we'll manage. You just learn."

Lindsay nodded contemplatively.

"You're not scared of doing it with me are you?" Danny questioned with a wary voice.

"There's no one else I'd rather raise a family with." She smiled. "I'm just scared of getting it wrong."

"Lindsay, the day I stop loving you will be the day that happens... We'll make mistakes, but we're only human. You won't get it _wrong_. There's no wrong way about it... There are just different ways."

"I... I just don't want her to hate me."

"Hate you?" Danny suppressed his grin. "Why would she hate you?"

"She just might, and then what? We'll be in therapy trying to save our family."

"Well, until then, how about we worry about which brand of diapers to buy..."

"I guess..." Lindsay sighed heavily. "I'm being silly, aren't I?"

"A little..." Danny admitted. "But it's natural to be a little scared. It's a scary thing having someone rely on you to protect them and help them grow, but we'll get it right, Linds... And you don't have to worry about her hating you, Linds. She's lucky to have you as her Mommy."

"You think?"

"I know."

"Promise?"

"I promise." He smiled as he pressed a kiss to her forehead. "It don't look like this storm's lettin' up... So much for that evening walk we had planned."

"We can just numb our brains with reruns of something instead."

Nodding, Danny grabbed the remote and switched the TV on and let it sit at the channel as they waited for the commercial break to take them back to the TV show.

"See what's on." Lindsay sighed as she snuggled into Danny's side as best she could.

"I'm trying... it's not responding that well. It's gonna go out I think."

"Ugh."

And as if on cue, the TV went blank and the lamp they'd had on in the room went out, leaving them in darkness.

"Greaaaaaat." Lindsay groaned.

Danny tried to switch the TV on once again, hoping it was simply a power surge, but sighed as the set was unresponsive. "Well, looks like we're staring at each other instead." He shrugged as he placed the remote on the bedside table.

"It's a good job you're pretty then."

"Whoa... Cheeky." Danny grinned as he moved down the bed. "One of these days..."

"What, you'll stop loving me and my cheekiness?"

"Yeah... like that'll ever happen." He laughed at the idea as he prodded her nose. "I'm just a sucker for you."

"Just imagine a little girl with my nose and your eyes... You won't know what hit you."

"God help us." He smirked as he pulled her into his arms and settled under the covers. "But I think it'd have more of an impact if she had brown eyes."

"Nah." Lindsay shook her head. "Blue eyes... She's got to have some of you in her."

"Who says that she isn't going to look like a clone of me? She could have my hair... my eyes..."

"Well, let's hope she doesn't get your nose."

Danny shook his head as his fingers went to Lindsay's sides and tickled her. "That was mean."

"I had to get it in!"

"It was a cheap shot."

"You left it wide open though."

Danny rolled his eyes as he pressed a kiss to the tip of Lindsay's nose. "Maybe the power going out isn't all that bad..."

"Oh yeah?" She smiled, "Why do you think that?"

"We can spend the time we'd spend watching TV doing something else."

"What do you have in mind?"

"Talking." He whispered as he pressed a soft kiss to her lips.

"About what?"

"You. Her. Us."

Lindsay licked her lips as she linked their hands together and placed his hands on her stomach just in time to feel their baby kick. "I think she's a fan of that suggestion there..."

Their conversation soon trailed off onto various different things. What opportunities did they want for her? Where in the world did they want to take her? How they were thrilled that they managed to be blessed with a baby that thus far was healthy, and prayed that she or he stayed that way.

Whether their child was a boy or girl was of little relevance. Her name and what she looked like didn't really matter.

All that mattered was that they couldn't wait to meet her, so that they could be the family they just were waiting to be.

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**I hope that none of you were offended by the names I used in this chapter... I literally typed in baby names on Google, and brought up the most popular ones and went from there. (And if you like Twilight... I'm sorry... I didn't want to pass on that banter! :) ) **

**In other news, hoped you enjoyed that bit of fluff... it's been a while since I wrote/edited anything fluffy with the past seven chapters or so, being angsty, so I hope it wasn't a let down of sorts. **

**Any thoughts and comments are much appreciated. **

**Thanks for reading! :)**


	38. I Will Not Say Goodbye

**A/N: Another update so quickly? I know! Thing is, I'm going to my grandparents this weekend and I didn't want to not update because even though it's only the weekend, it'll seem like forever! hehe. **

**Now, for this chapter, t****his was not what I expected the next chapter to be, as you know, Megan. But the muse wanted what he wanted, and dug his heels in until I gave in and let him have what he wanted.**I think there's the possibility that some of the details will be inaccurate as I'll admit that I was lazy and didn't do the research I could have... I just used my knowledge from the show, etc, and used my creative licence. So I mean, if anything does seem a little out there, I hope you can suspend disbelief and overlook the errors. 

**To answer some of your questions... I might keep you hanging about what I name their baby (although the summary totally gives it away... didn't think that one through I think...) and in regards to when Lindsay's going to have their baby... there's quite a few more chapters yet this side of her pregnancy... Sorry guys. The muse just doesn't want to let go yet hehe. **

**Special thank you to all of you who read (and those of you who reviewed) last chapter. I appreciate your support. Thanks to: **Lindsay1234, rhymenocerous, jorizo, rapidtetv, Christina5139, Dine89, uscrocks, brendanakai, saderia, jennifer32485, dl-shipper34, messermonroeforever125, ioanhoratio and 18lzytwner. :)

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**I Will Not Say Goodbye – Danny Gokey**

_Sometimes the road just ends, it changes everything you've been. And all that's left to be is empty, broken, lonely, hoping. I'm supposed to be strong. I'm supposed to find a way to carry on._

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_

Danny groaned as he glanced down to his watch once again. He was so incredibly late it just wasn't funny anymore. He knew, _knew_, that he shouldn't have sat talking to Lindsay into the small hours of the morning, but it had seemed like a fantastic idea at the time.

And really, it was quite nice being 'them' again.

Now though, after pressing the snooze button seven times, spending too five minutes too long in the shower and caving to Lindsay's pleads of 'just one more kiss', had left him weaving in and out of the masses of people as he raced to the crime lab.

Over the years he'd gotten more and more skilful at managing to swerve the New York pedestrians. He'd had to; sometimes the subway was just unreliable, and speed walking was a fine way of giving him that early morning opportunity to wake up – even better if he was trying to protect a cup of coffee as he did so.

But of course, when he was in genuine rush, his skills in weaving had disappeared. He had lost count of the amount of people he'd crashed into. He growled in annoyance as he felt his arm being shoved backwards by a person going the opposite way.

He loved New York. He did. But right now, Montana looked a lot more appealing.

He didn't think of it often, but every now and then he found himself drifting off into an alternate universe where he and Lindsay called it a day in New York and set up house in Montana. He could work for the crime lab out in Helena, and Lindsay could stay at home, at least until the kids were in school, and then she could join him in Helena.

Or heck, he could join her after the kids had grown and let her have the career.

He pictured a big house with land all around for the kids to ride bikes, horses... Have a swing set, trampoline and whatever else their little hearts desired.

He smiled as he took note of the use of their. Much to Lindsay's dismay, Daniel Messer was convinced that they wouldn't be able to settle for just one kid. They needed balance. One clone of her, and one of him. And really; in all honesty, it would be a crime to starve the world of beautiful children created by them.

Danny shook his head gently, stirring himself from his reverie, just in time as he collided with a man heading the opposite way.

"Sorry 'bout that." Danny apologised as he made an effort to get out of the other guy's way.

"Have you seen him?"

Danny blinked as his eyes focused on the thing that was being shoved in his face. Conscious of the time, Danny sighed. "Seen who?"

"My son." The stranger lamely explained. "He's been missing for over a week now, I'm desperate. Have you seen him?"

"No, but where was he last seen?"

"He had a night shift at the bar he works at. The shift finished at twelve thirty."

"Have you called the police?" He could probably be a whole lot more helpful, but the time was ticking away, and as much as he wanted to, he couldn't deal with this right now.

"Yeah, but a twenty one year old is the least of their priorities when there's other crazies running around the city."

"No kidding." Danny mused. "Tell you what, I'll take the poster and I'll keep my eyes peeled, okay?" He wasn't lying. He would. His main priority right now though was freeing himself of this conversation so he could race the last block and a half to the crime lab in order to get there on time.

"Thank you." The man whispered as he handed Danny the piece of paper. "You have no idea how much I appreciate your time. I can see you're in a rush."

"I hope you find him." Danny offered with a smile.

"Me too."

Sighing heavily as he took a moment to stand on the spot, he watched as the desperate father continued to hand out posters to people who just didn't care. He folded the picture and description of the young man and shoved it in his pocket.

He did care. He just didn't have the time to right now. He had places to be, crimes to solve, bosses to keep off his ass.

Picking up his pace, Danny glanced at his watch. Five minutes.

He _could_ do this.

* * *

"You're late."

Danny exhaled dramatically as he dropped into a heap on his desk chair. "No shit."

"What kept you? Too many kisses this mornin'? Made you lose track of time."

"Jump off a bridge, would ya?" Danny panted as he tried to catch his breath. "I got held up by some father lookin' for his kid."

"Oh yeah?" Flack asked, genuinely interested. "What he say?"

"Nothin' much," Danny lied, not wanting to bring up the conversation he was trying to shove to the back of his mind. "Asked me to keep my eyes peeled."

"Optimistic." Flack said with a raised eyebrow. "What did you say?"

"Well, I took the poster and said I would."

"And how long's he been missing?"

"A week."

"That's the expectant father in you talkin', Danno. You know the odds on that kid turnin' up are slim to nothin' now."

"Maybe... but hopefully I'll never find myself in a situation like that guy is, least I could do was offer the guy a bit of courtesy and give him some faith that not everyone in New York would trample on you... like I nearly did."

"Poor guy." Flack sighed before changing the subject, sensing Danny didn't want to talk anymore about it. "Mac wanted to see you the second you got in."

"Oh yeah?... what's the deal?"

"Dunno, just told me to grab you and swing by his office."

"Let's get a wiggle on then." Danny smirked.

"A wiggle? You've been hangin' around that country girl of yours too long."

"Please," Danny's face crumpled in disbelief. "Like that would ever come out of Montana's mouth."

"Danno, a year ago I would have said the exact same about you, but look at you now. You think it's a perfectly acceptable phrase. It blows my damn mind."

"Get up you clown!" Danny chuckled as the two friends made their way to Mac's office.

* * *

_I could have so stayed for another kiss or ten. Mac's got me on paperwork... after I ran all the way to work. So, I hope you're pleased with yourself I burnt my breakfast off before I even got to work. Starving now. Bring me food. ;) love you._

Danny dropped his phone on his desk after he finished his text to Lindsay. He sighed as he pulled another case file towards him. As much as he loved his job, paperwork blew. He hated reliving the case after solving it; especially the harder ones. And spending a ridiculous amount of hours typing up his notes and everything else that paperwork entailed was just a pain in the ass. It would be a lot different if he could type like Lindsay could. She could sit and be reading the case report while her fingers would be whizzing over the keyboard as if she was some kind of machine. He however, wasn't as skilled when it came to words per minute. To her hundred, he could probably manage about forty five, with spelling mistakes included.

He sighed as his eyes scanned over his latest report. He remembered what a waste of time this case had been; one junkie shooting another junkie over an argument about crack. He needed strength from somewhere. Coffee. Coffee would do the trick. But there was no way in hell he was going to sit and drink the sludge that was passed off as coffee in the break room.

He grabbed his phone from the desk and jacket from the back of his chair and shoved his arms through the sleeves as he headed out into the hallway and towards the elevator.

A nice break would do just the trick. He waited patiently as the elevator slowly made its way up from the ground floor. He shifted on his heels and let out a sigh as he stretched his back, removing the creaks and tension from it. As he did so, his phone began to vibrate in his hand. He pulled up the message from Lindsay with a smile.

_I can see you ;) _

Looking up and scanning his eyes all around him, he furrowed his brow when he couldn't see her.

As he looked around, puzzled, he received another message.

_Look up._

As he did so, he caught sight of Lindsay stood on the overpass above the locker room.

Lindsay smirked. "Romeo, Romeo, wherefore art thou Romeo."

"Shall I hear more, or shall I speak at this?" Danny replied, pleased with his knowledge of Shakespeare enough to be able to make Lindsay giggle.

"Goof!" The smile on her face warmed his heart.

"I thought you were still at home... What you doin' up there?" He smirked at her as he slipped his phone into his pocket. "Overseeing activities?"

"Spying on people, and pretending I'm Juliet." she giggled. "Where are you going?"

"Coffee... I'm dying."

Lindsay raised an eyebrow.

"Okay," he sighed. "I'm bored."

She shook her head. "Get to work, slacker."

"Want anything?" He smiled. "Donut? Cinnamon pastry?"

"Something cinnamon-y would go down a treat." She smiled. "I brought you lunch. It's in the fridge in the break room."

"You did? I love you!"

"You only love me because I'm your meal ticket." She smirked. "And I'm cute."

"And you're the mother to my baby... and I can't possibly function without you."

"Oh Romeo, how thy sweet talks me."

"Shakespeare's rolling in his grave, babe."

"Hush." She smirked.

"Elevators here, catch you up soon?"

She nodded and waved as she continued on her way, case files clutched to her chest as she did so.

He finally made his way into the elevator and smiled as he settled against the wall. Today was shaping up to be a pretty good day for him. Lunch from Lindsay. Quoting Shakespeare and impressing Lindsay. No strenuous work expected, other than paperwork of course, and a nice shift, ending (hopefully at five o'clock).

Only time would tell though.

* * *

"That's a straight ten dollars then, Danny."

"Ten... Petey, what's the deal? I've got this exact same order for the past six months and it was always six-fifty."

"The economy... surely Mr. Crime scene can afford ten bucks. And come on, you live in New York Danny... what do you expect?"

"I expect affordable coffee... I'm a cup off a bank loan... ten bucks for a _small_ cup and a cinnamon bun. You're insane."

"Surely on your salary you can throw ten bucks this way."

"Not with a baby on the way... and a hungry girlfriend."

"Fine, tell you what. I'll do you a deal... for you, eleven."

"Eleven?"

"There's interest." The vendor smirked. "And your coffee's getting cold. And you're wasting my time with your ugly mug."

Danny growled as he pulled out his wallet, accompanied with a piece of paper.

Curious, Danny quickly handed Petey the eleven dollars, with an added 'Jerk' for free before unfolding the piece of paper. Between the paperwork, need for coffee and flirting with Lindsay, he'd forgotten all about the desperate father from earlier.

His heart sunk as he grabbed the paper bag and coffee with one hand and held the poster in the other and gave himself a moment to read over all of the details. A week missing really was a long time, and the look on the father's face had moved Danny. Although at the time he'd brushed him off, he could still see the desperate look in his eyes, pleading for help. Turning on his heel, Danny folded the piece of paper and placed it back in his pocket. Paperwork could wait. Right now, there was someone needed his attention more than two crack heads.

He took his decision in his stride as he quickly made his way back to the crime lab, formulating a plan of action in his mind.

* * *

"Adam..."

"Yo!"

"Move."

"Whoa, that's not very nice."

"Move your ass, please." Danny growled as he pulled up an office chair and opened the lid of the scanner. "I'm not in the mood for you to be playin' that game."

"What game?"

Danny rolled his eyes. "Adam..."

"Oh... I..." He shuffled in his spot. "I um..."

"Just go." Danny groaned. "I've got something I need to run."

"Is it... Danny... I..."

"I okayed it, Adam." Danny assured his nervous friend. "Mac knows I'm blowing off paperwork... This is... it's important okay? And nothing illegal, don't worry."

"Say no more." Adam said as he raised his hands in surrender. "I hear you."

"Thanks man," Danny smiled before turning back to his task at hand. He'd managed to multi-task through his conversation with Adam and had successfully scanned the image from the photograph on the missing poster into the system. He had decided to run it through the missing persons' database just to get the official match, and then he decided he would cross reference that to Sid's database down in the morgue to see if he found a match.

Then, if he had no luck on either of those, he'd have to think of a plan B.

He turned and stretched a little as his search began, zipping through the thousands of files stored on the system. He picked up his coffee and took a long sip of the now lukewarm liquid.

It didn't take him as long as he had expected but he'd found a match within minutes. The name on the record matched the name on the poster; John Stavos. Twenty-one. Reported missing a week and a half ago. He took a deep breath before pulling up Sid's database; wanting to find the kid, but not wanting this to be the way he found him.

He entered the criteria and sat back, waiting for a match.

* * *

Danny rest his head against his propped up hand, as his other hand pressed his office phone to his ear and let out a sigh. He was a little sick of Leona Lewis on repeat as the hold music he was listening to.

"Keep bleeding, Leona. Go on, keep on blee-"

"Hello?"

Coughing, Danny tried to find his voice. "Hi, I wanted to get in touch with a Detective Farber... I appear to have a lead on a case he was investigating."

"Oh?.. well I'm his partner, he's not in the office right now. I could try help though. Can I just ask who this is?"

"Detective Messer."

"Alright Detective Messer, I'm Detective Peterson... What's the case you're referring to?"

"Well, it was a John Doe, from about a week and a half ago... Appeared to be a robbery and stabbing..."

"I seem to recall. I remember him looking young."

"Yeah, well I have a name and a little more information for you."

"Oh, well let me just grab a pen... You work directly under Mac Taylor, right?"

"Yeah." Danny shrugged. "Well, I'm part of his team... You ready?"

"Sure."

"Okay, his name is John Stavos. He works at some bar called KGB on 85th East and 4th... He'd been working that night and his shift finished at twelve thirty that night."

"Okay, well I'm writing all this down... I'll see if we can go back to the area and pick up on something. Find surveillance we didn't know to look at previously... I have a question though."

"Okay, go."

"How is it you seem to have all this information?"

"On my way to work today the kid's father approached me, asking for help with finding his son. It's particularly slow up here today, so I figured running a search or two would kill some time. I just really want this guy to know what went down you know? Get some peace with it, because right now he's hopin' and prayin' his son will walk through the door tonight."

"Well... I mean if you want, I could sign off on you getting in touch with the father. I'm sure he'd appreciate hearing the news from you, if of course you don't mind taking that on."

"No, no that's okay. I'll make the arrangements."

"Thanks for the lead, Detective. I'll get onto this right now and see what I can do. I'll ensure to keep you in the loop."

"Thanks, I appreciate it."

Promptly hanging up Danny leant back in his chair. His own paperwork was now hidden underneath print outs and an autopsy report, courtesy of Sid. He decided that he needed some lunch in order to help him stomach what he was about to do.

* * *

He was pacing back and forth in the foyer of the crime lab as he anxiously waited for John Stavos' father. Thankfully, he'd remembered him so the awkward reintroduction over the phone was minimal. Danny had asked him to meet him at the crime lab; telling him he had some information for him if he could make his way there. He cringed as he thought about it in retrospect. As they'd had lunch together in the break room, Lindsay had suggested meeting him somewhere else; not having the poor father fearing the worst, but hoping for the best, only to have those fears confirmed as he made his way to the crime lab. Danny had gone with his instincts though and disregarded what she'd said, thinking that he knew best. It was better to just get it done.

But now as he thought about it, he questioned how right his instincts were.

He glanced up in time to see the father clutching a pile of missing posters to his chest, a look of worry etched onto his face.

"Mr. Stavos." Danny greeted with an outstretched hand. "Detective Messer."

Arthur Stavos returned the handshake and offered the young man a small smile. "I bumped into the right person today apparently."

"Well, I wouldn't say the right person, but you definitely bumped into a person that could do something, and was determined to make sure something happened... I um, shall we go somewhere a little more private?"

"You found him, didn't you?" Arthur Stavos disregarded Danny's suggestion. "It's not good is it?"

Danny shook his head slowly. "I'm sorry for your loss."

Arthur let out a laboured sigh. "Can I see him?"

"I have the ME prepping him for a viewing now."

Arthur nodded slowly. "This wasn't exactly the outcome I expected for today."

"I'm sorry," Danny whispered, astounded at how strong the father was upon hearing the news about the loss of his son. "Really, I am."

"Do you know what happened?"

"It's currently an ongoing investigation, but from what I've been told it appears to be a robbery gone bad. The suspect had followed your son from his place of work and demanded his tips and wage. John refused. We currently have a suspect with the Detectives that were lead on the case in an interrogation room as we speak."

"Sounds about right. Awkward thing he is, but God he's a good kid. Determined to pay his own way... There's no way he would have given that money up."

Danny's message tone broke the momentary awkward silence; which indicated Sid being ready with the body of John Stavos.

"Are you ready for this?" Danny asked. "I know that it's... it's sudden and a lot to take..."

"I'll manage."

"Is there anyone you want me to call for some moral support?"

"No, no I'll be okay."

"Positive?"

Arthur nodded. "Absolutely. Let's get this chapter of our lives done."

Danny nodded as he motioned the beginnings of leading the way to the morgue; utterly devastated for the man beside him, trying to hold himself together.

The ride in the elevator was silent, which honestly; Danny was used to as the family member, or whomever else he happened to be riding with in this situation tried to gather their thoughts. If he was honest, he actually preferred the silence as opposed to offering some form of comfort and sensitive stream of words that didn't really achieve anything.

They stepped off the elevator one after the other as they finally reached the correct floor, and Danny made a move the lead them towards their intended destination.

"Say the word and we'll turn around," Danny promised. "If it's too hard..."

"I need to do this." Arthur insisted. "I wasn't there when he died. This is the only thing I can do to show him that I wanted to be there when he needed me."

Danny nodded. He stepped back, letting Arthur make his way towards the table where Sid was at. Danny averted his eyes, fighting back emotions as he heard the exchange between Sid and John Stavos' father.

Looking up at the ceiling, Danny managed to send the tears back wherever they came from as he heard Arthur Stavos let out a heartbreaking sob.

"Danny..." Sid's voice rang out hinting for him to step in.

Nodding, Danny wrapped an arm around the poor man as he sobbed. He handed him a tissue and offered him a pillar of silent support.

"I just didn't... I hoped... I never thought that this would happen."

"Sometimes the road just ends, and when it does, it changes everything you think you are." Danny began. "But it also shapes the person you grow into. Take the love and memories you have and just make him live on with you and your family."

Arthur nodded. "I just... it's going to be hard to find a way to be strong, for my wife and daughter."

"You'll find a way to carry on." Danny assured him. "You will, it'll hurt every day, but you'll find a way to function."

"I don't know how strong I am to deal with all of this. I'm not supposed to be burying him, he's supposed to be burying me, you know? I'm strong enough for this..."

"You never know how strong you can be until you need to be strong." Danny said as he patted Arthur on the back as a comforting gesture, slowly leading him from the autopsy room. He'd actually taken that from Lindsay, and God knew where she had got that from, but the more he thought about it, the more he realised how true it was. You didn't realise your strength until you found yourself needing to be strong.

"Do you have children, Detective?" Arthur questioned with a small voice.

"My girlfriend is pregnant." He fought the smile that tried to grace his lips, his way of being respectful of the situation and circumstances.

"Do you know what you're having?"

"Not yet." Danny shrugged. "Right now it's a surprise."

"Can I give you a piece of advice?"

"Sure."

"Treasure every moment, because..." Arthur choked back a sob, "Because you don't know when it'll be taken away."

Danny fought back his own tears and opened his arms, just in time to catch the older man in his arms as the sobs overtook him.

No matter what words of comfort Danny offered nothing would bring back John Stavos and ease Arthur Stavos' pain. And as he patted Arthur's back hesitantly, Danny felt tears prick his eyes as the lump in his throat grow as he came to a conclusion. No parent should ever lose their child.

* * *

"So what's happening then?" Lindsay asked as she met Danny's eyes across their desks.

"I passed it off to the Detectives that were originally assigned the case." Danny explained. "The identity gave them a fresh mind and got them a new lead. They've got someone in custody and he's waiting for a trial date."

"And the father?"

"Well, I had Sid arrange for him to see his body and get the chance to say goodbye. The ME's office have released the body and Sid put them in touch with a really good funeral home."

"That was sweet of him."

Danny nodded as he pinched the bridge of his nose as an attempt to relieve some tension building up in the form of a headache. "And this paperwork is still here... didn't disappear like I was prayin' it would...?"

"Nope, the paperwork fairy took the day off today." Lindsay smiled as she reached across the desks and took Danny's hand. "Why did you do all of that?" She asked quietly.

"All of what?"

"The case, the phone calls, the liaising with the victim's family... especially when you had so much you needed to do."

"Are you telling me you wouldn't have done the exact same thing?"

"No, I would have; without a doubt... But we both know what I'm like..."

Danny let out a breath as he faltered under Lindsay's wondering gaze. "I know what it feels like to be terrified to lose someone."

"Who? Louie?"

"No. You."

"Me?" Lindsay repeated, wanting to ensure she'd heard him properly. "Me?"

"How many times have I nearly lost you?"

Lindsay blushed. "Lost me? Like, when we've split up."

"Well, yes... But not in that sense. I don't mean my own doing... I mean physically."

"I'm not sure I understand? When did you nearly lose me? I don't remember."

"When you went to do the drop for the Jewellery heist," Danny recalled. "Do you know how close I was to losing you that day?"

"Well yeah," she said, splitting the syllables of the word. "But she would have died."

"And I love that you were so insistent that you did the drop, because you effectively saved that girl's life. Granted she's spending the rest of it in some prison somewhere for the heist, but she didn't die. Hell, you saved two... her and her friend. And for every second you were in there, my heart was racing and I just couldn't deal with that terror."

Lindsay blinked at him, completely astounded. "I didn't realise... I mean I guess I had always just figured you didn't want to lose another partner. One being fired, and then me potentially dying... in such a short time too."

"No Lindsay, I couldn't bear the thought of losing you. Not my partner; you. Although it was different circumstances, I've felt what that Arthur felt with his son, with you... not knowing what was going to happen to you, where you were or what it was you were doing. I just... I had to do something."

"But that can't be the only reason," she pressed. "As much as I appreciate the sentiment, the similarities are quite the stretch, Danny."

"I can't get nothin' past you, can I?"

She smiled. "So why else?"

"Two years ago I wouldn't have."

Lindsay raised an eyebrow. It wasn't quite the answer she had expected. "Huh?"

"Two years ago, I wouldn't have done all that I did today when I had other stuff to do. I just... I could see how much the kid meant to him, and I didn't want him to suffer any more than what he had to."

Lindsay narrowed her eyebrows and shook her head. "I think you're wrong."

"Wrong?" A blush swept over Danny's cheeks, a little upset at what she appeared to be getting out. "How do you mean wrong?"

"I think you would have done all of this two years ago."

"You do?" His face changed.

She nodded. "You underestimate the person you used to be Danny. I can't vouch for you before I started at the lab, but in the years I've known you, there's not a doubt in my mind that you wouldn't have used your initiative to do this for this family. You care about people's stories... and when his father approached you, deep down you knew that you were going to run a sneaky search to see if you could come up with anything. The only thing you did differently was that you let Mac in the loop before you did it."

"I guess you're right." Danny shrugged. "Wasn't the outcome I would have liked though."

"It was the outcome you were expecting though right?" Lindsay said, sadly.

"Missing for a week? It isn't usually promising."

"I know..." She nodded. "But I'm proud of you."

"Proud of me?"

"Yeah," She nodded as she wheeled her chair towards him and positioned herself in front of him. "You were the reason this case was solved, Danny. A murderer who was free is now waiting a trial, and that family has closure. All because you took it upon yourself to give this guy a moment of your time to run a few searches so you could give him the answers he needed. He can find the strength he needs to carry on because _you_ gave him the closure he needed."

"I just... I wanted to help him out. I could see how desperate he was. I could just tell he was broken... He was hoping for a miracle, and I knew he wasn't going to get it. So I mean even though I've broken him even more, hopefully that empty feeling he had is filled a little because he knows what happened, and he's not going to sit for the next twenty years wondering if his son is ever going to call or walk through the door."

"I'm so proud of you," she whispered as she wrapped her arms around his neck and buried her face into his chest. "So proud."

"And all it was, was a days' work... not bad, especially considering you're bursting with pride... makes it even more rewarding."

"Rewarding?"

"Well, giving Arthur Stavos closure, but also... knowing you're proud of me is like, the best feelin' there is.. as cheesy as that sounds."

"Cheesy? I don't think so." Lindsay smiled as she pressed a kiss to his cheek and pulled him up from his seat and onto his feet. "Come on, let's go."

"It's not quite the five o'clock finish I was gunning for." Danny glanced at the clock that read ten-thirty. "But, I better get these impromptu extended shifts in before I'm Daddy."

Lindsay smiled as she moulded herself into his side. "Let's go."

Danny smiled. "Eager..."

She nodded and smiled as she handed him his jacket with her index finger. "I want to show you how proud I am of you today."

Smiling, he linked their hands together and let out a breath. "Could do me a favour?"

"Sure, what?"

"Take me home and kiss me to sleep. I was quite the fan of that, and honestly, all I want right now is to feel you and just let go of everything that happened today."

"That, I can do." She promised.

* * *

**I hope you guys enjoyed this one, I know there were a lot of scene changes so I hope that wasn't too confusing. **

**Thanks for reading - and any thoughts and comments are, as ever, very much appreciated! :) **


	39. The Call

**A/N: Hi guys, me again! Once again, Fred decided that he wasn't having any part of the plan I had decided on, and was going by his own rules, so while this wasn't the chapter I had planned to post, it works too I guess. Just make sure you cast your mind back a few chapters, okay? Otherwise it may seem I'm taking something, or posted a chapter on the wrong story... Like I said, Fred wanted what he wanted!**

**Just as a word of warning with this chapter, (and without giving too much away) I wanted to deal with something that both related to the story I was telling and the song I used - so if any of you are listening to the song while reading, you'll be able to figure out where I'm taking it, those of you who aren't... just, proceed with a little bit of caution (you know everything always ends okay with me!) **

******I have to dedicate this one to iheartcsinewyork, AKA Amy. She introduced me to this wonderful song that really opens your eyes if you listen to it - even more so if you catch it on YouTube/iTunes/Windows Media/your player of choice... So this one is for you I guess, girly! :)**  


**Annnnnd in other news... Thank you to all of you who read (and reviewed!) last chapter. I don't know what on earth is happening with this site at the moment, but my emails/updates/chapters/etc are just way out of sync. Weird. Anyway, this being said, if I don't mention you in my thank yous, it wasn't intentional, I promise! So with this in mind - thank you to: **piper maru duchovny, jennifer32485, uscrocks, Christina5139, rapidtetv, brendanakai, Megan, ioanhoratio, messermonroeforever125, bluelilyrose, unlikelyRLshipper and CSINYBabyy.** Once again, if I missed you off, I'm really sorry! **

**Finally, I hope you enjoy! :) **

**

* * *

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**The Call – Matt Kennon **

_If someone you know is weighing on your mind, and needs a friend on the end of that other line, don't hesitate. What you say may seem so small but who knows; they might just be glad you called._

_

* * *

_

Killing the engine, Jennifer reached over to the passenger seat with shaking hands. She picked up the piece of paper she'd folded meticulously and placed it on the dashboard in plain sight before picking up the metallic black object that had stared at her for her entire drive.

It had been a week. An entire week since John had died. A week since Tim had once again, shattered her entire life. A week since her life as she knew it ended.

So really, ending it finally was the only option for her, right?

She turned the gun over in her hand as she took a long, deep breath.

Honestly, she couldn't bare the pain anymore; she had nothing left to live for. John was gone and wasn't coming home. She'd lost her chance to have a baby years ago. And her apartment was a constant reminder of everything that had happened. The blood stains, although physically had gone; were still burned into her retinas. The new carpets had done nothing in helping her forget what had happened. The shattered vases were still shattered. Her heart was still broken as she listened to the silence of the apartment.

Her wrist was still broken, but was healing. Her bruises had nearly gone, but were still there mentally. Her heart was still shattered; leaving just an empty space in her chest. She'd not only relived the past; getting beaten by the hands of Tim once again that day; she'd also lost the only man in the world she could see her spending forever with.

Today, instead of getting up brewing some coffee, she didn't bother. Today, instead of getting dressed and going to the bodega down the street to get the morning paper, she didn't bother. Today, instead of questioning how she'd make it through the day, she didn't bother. She wouldn't need to stay awake. She wouldn't need to know what happened yesterday, or what the weather forecast was for tomorrow. She wouldn't need to wonder how she's make it through the day... because none of that would matter. Not after she ended it all.

Today was going to be the day.

Raising the gun with her non-bandaged hand, she took one last deep breath. As her finger hovered over the trigger, her cell phone rang out.

Although her heart had already been racing, its speed increased tenfold as she contemplated answering the call.

She had to.

Fate obviously insisted.

Without even looking at the caller ID, Jennifer's shaky and broken wristed hand flipped the phone open and held it to her ear. "Hello?" She whispered, tears slipping freely down her cheeks.

"Hey Jennifer, it's Lindsay Monroe... I just wanted to call and see how things were for you."

Jennifer swallowed the huge lump in her throat as she glanced down to the nine millimetre gun in her hand. "Lindsay?"

"How are you?" Jennifer fought a tear. Lindsay's voice was filled with genuine concern and interest for her wellbeing.

"Things are..." Jennifer glanced down to the gun once again. "Tough. Things are really tough right now."

"I can only imagine... Truly... I've felt loss, but never like you, Jennifer."

"Yeah." For some reason, Jennifer had a huge feeling of guilt rising through her, mixed with her anxiety and her racing heart.

"You've just been playing on my mind." Lindsay began "I figured if I could say even the littlest thing that offered you a bit of comfort, it was worth a shot."

Jennifer let out a sigh as her finger loosened around the trigger. "That's... that's really nice of you Lindsay."

"No, I just know how it is, Jennifer... desperately wanting someone to reach out and show that they care. I've been there... waiting for that someone to give me something I could hold onto; a little glimmer of hope that things will eventually be okay."

"You have no idea." Jennifer glanced at the gun that she now held in her hand. "I really need... something right now."

"I know it doesn't seem like it now, but I've been down at rock bottom and Jennifer I swear to you it gets better. One day it won't hurt as much, and after that smiling comes easier... You'll be able to let everything rest in the back of your mind, and it won't consume you anymore. I know it's very little now, and nothing I can say will bring John back but..."

"Just the fact that you called Lindsay, I can't tell you how much it means to me." Jennifer choked back her tears. "I really appreciate it."

"Well, like I said, you've been on my mind and I just couldn't not call." Lindsay paused. "I didn't catch you in the middle of anything, did I?"

"You kind of did, but it's okay..." Jennifer let out a breath as she placed the gun on the passenger seat. "I'm actually glad you called."

She could hear the smile in Lindsay's voice as she replied. "Not important?"

"Not at all." Jennifer replied, her breath shaky, this time from relief. "Can I ask you something, Lindsay?"

"Of course."

There was a slight pause between the two before Jennifer finally found the courage to ask what was on her mind. "What would you do if you lost Danny?"

Jennifer listened to the long pause on the other end of the line; the lack of a response unnerving her a little. Finally, Lindsay's voice broke the silence. "I don't know. I really don't. What I do know is that I'd take each day as it came and I'd make sure that I'd take the good with the bad."

"How do you mean, good with the bad?"

"Well, I'd take the good memories I have with him, accompanied with the heartbreak of losing him. That way, the good memories would soften the blow of the heartbreak of losing him... I'd tell myself that even though I didn't get my forever with him, I got share the rest of his life with him and he loved me enough to give me that."

Jennifer swallowed as a tear trickled down her cheek.

"... did that make sense?" Lindsay's light voice giggled. "I don't think it did."

"It made perfect sense to me." Jennifer replied. "Thank you Lindsay... You've really helped me."

"Well, my mission for today is complete." She teased lightly. "I'm glad I could help... even if it was just a little pick me up for you and nothing I said really sank in..."

"Oh believe me, it more than sank in." Jennifer glanced down to the gun. "It changed my outlook on a few things."

"I'm so glad. If you ever need someone to talk to, you have my number... And really Jennifer, when I say don't hesitate I mean it... don't. Even if it's three AM. I'm only at the other end of the line."

"Thank you." Jennifer whispered. "Thanks Lindsay."

"Anytime." Lindsay's voice sounded down the line. "I'll let you get back to what you were doing now."

"Actually, what I was doing doesn't matter now. I'll speak to you soon, Lindsay."

"Bye, Jennifer."

Jennifer moved the phone from her ear and watched as Lindsay disconnected the call.

A part of her had wanted to end the pain, the suffering... But there was the other part of her, the larger part, told her that she had so much to live for now. She couldn't let John die for no reason. What would be the point in him losing his life, just for her to end hers? None. He had given her his life, and for that, she owed him. She'd owe him forever.

Jennifer let out a deep breath and picked up her note, ripping it into two, and then into smaller pieces.

The fact that a complete stranger in the form of Lindsay Monroe had cared enough to reach out and call her had restored her faith in... People. Herself. Things she hadn't even realised she'd even lost faith in. Lindsay had effectively shown Jennifer that not everything and everyone in the world was bad. Some people were genuine good people just wanting to help.

She let out another deep breath as reality set in. Tim was gone. There was no way he'd ever lay a finger on her again. Lindsay had kept her promise that she and her partner would see to him spending the rest of his life behind bars.

That meant that finally; she could sleep at night.

Yes, John had died, but she wasn't going to let him die in vain. Jennifer reached across to the passenger side of the car and slid the bullets from the gun; placing the gun in the glove compartment and dropped the bullets into her purse, separating the two until she could get rid of the whole thing safely.

She then turned the key in the ignition, enabling her to roll her window down as she put her foot down on the accelerator. She inhaled the fresh air as she picked up speed on the small lane, letting the warm summer breeze surround her. She carefully reached across to the ripped up note, she picked it up and laid it in her hand as she held out of the window, letting the shredded suicide note flutter off into the distance.

Back into the past.

Tim had managed to control the majority of her life thus far; but not anymore. Things were going to be different. She turned her visor down and ran her fingertip over a picture of John that she kept there. He was smiling. He was happy. He'd kept his promise to her. And now, she would keep her's... She'd live her life to the fullest and let go of her past.

Lindsay Monroe would never know the impact she had just made. What she had said probably seemed so small to Lindsay, but to Jennifer; it had saved her life.

And for that, Jennifer would be eternally grateful.

* * *

**So, Jennifer made a brief reappearance. I just wanted to tie up a few loose ends with her, and make a few things better for her... With Lindsay's help of course. And I know that on the show we've been told time and time again it seems that a woman's choice of suicide tends not to involve a gun, but personally, I didn't want to get into all of that, and to keep it similar to the song choice I made, I went for that. I sincerely hope that I didn't cause any offence in this chapter. **

**Comments and thoughts are, as ever, muchly appreciated.**

**Thanks for tuning into the latest episode! :) **


	40. Just Say Yes

**A/N: So, as some of you may have realised it's been a while since I updated. Fred and I had a HUGE to-do about this chapter. He wanted more angst, I didn't. He wanted more of a to-do. I didn't. He wanted to drag it out. I told him to go to sleep - it's 2am, and I wasn't playing. He wanted to stay up. So here I am at near enough 3am, giving him what he wants. **

**Jerk. **

**Anyway. So I blame this chapter entirely on Fred. It wasn't what I wanted, but he insisted. So it's disjointed I feel, and random at times, because I was mad with him. **

**And I also had a certain Megan poking me to do this chapter too! hehe. Well, she asked for the song months and months and months ago, and apparently I just fail and it got to a point where I didn't want to post another chapter until it was the one using her song request because it's about time I do _one_ of the ones she wants! hehe. (I know this isn't quite three paragraphs, Megan, but it's three am... and I have sleep that needs to get started.) **

**So yes, basically this chapter may not be my strongest, but it's something? **

***ducks* **

**Onto happier things, welcome back to afrozenheart - you've been missed! hehe. And, special thank you to all you lovely readers and reviewers. You guys (or should it be girls?) are always so kind, and I honestly can't explain how much I appreciate it! :) So, mentions to: **piper maru duchovny, rhymenocerous, Christina5139, uscrocks, Lindsay1234, rapidtetv, brendanakai, ZoeyBug, messermonroeforever125, iheartcsinewyork, bluelilyrose, 18lzytwner, prplerayne, unlikelyRLshipper, danny-lindsay4e and afrozenheart412. :)

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**Just Say Yes – Snow Patrol**

_I can feel your heart beat through my shirt__. __This was all I wanted, all I want._

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_

As she collapsed into her chair at her desk, Lindsay let out a disheartened sigh. Today was supposed to be special. _She _was supposed to be made to feel special. It was her birthday once a year, and for that one day the least he could do was... She straightened up as she swiped away the stray tear that slid down her cheek. She wasn't going to break down. No... no, no, no!

That morning, she had peeled her eyes open and couldn't help the smile that had been plastered across her face. Usually, her birthday wasn't a big deal and she found herself unable to get excited - most years she didn't even particularly want to do anything. This year however, she had been like a little girl on her birthday morning; ecstatic of all the things that she had to look forward to. For the first time ever she was actually happy with Danny in her relationship on her birthday. It had taken long enough, but they had gotten there eventually.

And as she had stuck her arm behind her, waiting to feel Danny under her fingertips, she had furrowed her brow as she swiped the cool sheets. There had been no Danny. No note. There wasn't even a wet towel draped over his side, indicating he'd left in a rush.

She'd gotten dressed in silence; not even bothering to turn the radio on. She didn't bother with fixing her hair like she had intended to; nor did she bother with much make up. She just wanted to get the day over with - which brought her back to her spot at her desk; fighting tears as she pulled out her latest lab report to look over.

"Hey Birthday Girl."

Closing her eyes for a moment, Lindsay prepared herself as she plastered a grin on her face and turned. "Stell, hey!"

"I hear Mac stole Danny away from you this morning."

"I wouldn't know." She replied curtly with a shrug. "I haven't spoken to him."

"Oh." Stella's eyebrows arched at the revelation as she sat down next to Lindsay in Danny's office chair. "Well, it's been a busy morning."

"Don't make excuses for him, Stella." Lindsay snapped.

"Lindsay come on, this isn't like you."

"He forgot my birthday Stella... again."

"I just said Mac called him to a scene this morning Lindsay, give him a break."

"It's eleven thirty, Stella. He hasn't even called me... Don't even try to stick up for him, okay? He forgot; it's as simple as that."

"You know guys though Lindsay; they aren't programmed to remember things like this."

"That's what he said to me as his defence last year. Birthdays they fail with – but they remember steak sides and sport stats."

"He said that?" Stella exclaimed with an arched set of eyebrows

Lindsay nodded slowly.

"Can I go back out, come back in and try this again?" Stella chuckled lightly, trying to lighten the mood.

"I'm sorry," Lindsay sighed. "This isn't your fault... it's that stupid oafs fault."

"Oaf?" Stella repeated as she tried to suppress a giggle. "Lindsay..."

"I'm mad, but I still love him." Lindsay reasoned. "Even though he's an oaf."

Stella shook her head as she leant forward and pulled her friend into a one armed hug. "Oh kiddo, it's alright... he might have a big extravagant plan."

"Did you see that pig?" Lindsay exclaimed excitedly as she pointed outside the window before letting her facial expressions drop back to her previous cynical expression. "He forgot... and until I tattoo my birthday to my forehead, he'll always forget."

Stella sighed as she stood and rubbed Lindsay's shoulder. "Don't give up faith just yet, kiddo. He might surprise you."

"I won't be holding my breath." Lindsay muttered as her friend left the office.

* * *

Yawning, Danny slowly made his way down the hallway; a case folder in one hand – a cup of coffee in the other. Early mornings didn't sit well with him and he really, _really_ had to stop making a habit of sleeping through his alarm. He'd had so much planned for the morning, but hadn't been able to carry out a thing. It was his cell phone that woke him; with a disgruntled Mac at the other end inquiring about his employee's whereabouts. Ten after nine wasn't exactly nine o'clock, nor was it the way Danny had wanted to start the day. Such is as life though, he figured as he used his shoulder to open up the office door, not bothering to suppress the smile on his face. He quickly moved over to his desk and dropped his files and placed his coffee on his desktop calendar. And when he was free of the obstacles in his arms, he leant down to Lindsay and pressed a kiss to her cheek.

"Mornin' babe."

"It's twelve thirty," Lindsay snipped, her eyes not even leaving the screen.

"Well, in that case - Good afternoon babe."

The only noise that could be heard was Lindsay's continual typing on the computer.

"Everythin' okay?" He asked as his fingers went to her shoulders, massaging the tension from her neck.

"Yep, it's okay."

"You sure?" He pressed, working a particular kink in her neck.

"I'm fine."

"You don't sound fine." He observed as he paused his actions of relieving the tension in her neck and shoulders.

"Don't worry about it, Danny." She said curtly with a shrug of her shoulders.

He swallowed as she moved away from him and closer to her desk, despite her stomach preventing her from moving away from him considerably. He knew enough from his time in their relationship that when Lindsay said something was okay, she was fine or for him to not worry about something – it was quite the opposite. Things weren't okay, she wasn't fine, and he really needed to worry about whatever it was.

"Tough morning?" He inquired.

"Shouldn't you be working on something? I'm told you're on a case."

"Yeah... I didn't even get my goodbye kiss this morning." He sighed as he dropped a kiss to the crown of her head, taking a moment to inhale her shampoo. "I hate busy days you know?"

"Mhmm." She nodded, her attention still not wavering from the computer screen.

"I love you,"

"You too."

He furrowed his brow as she found her way to get out of telling him she loved him too.

"If I don't see you, have a good rest of your day, baby girl."

"I will." She replied, her eyes still not having left her computer screen.

"Anyway... I better get going." He sighed, hesitant of Lindsay's mood.

"Yup."

He bit his lip as he cringed. 'Yup' was never good.

"I'll see you later?"

"Yup."

There it was again.

Shrugging as he stepped out of the office, he glanced around the lab looking for something he could do. Sighing, he pulled out his cell phone he pressed down speed dial three and waited for the phone line to connect.

"Ma, hey. It's Danny... I got a favour I need..."

* * *

Things were perfect. He'd been able to do some persuading and had managed to get off work an hour early; just in time to meet his mother at their apartment. He'd gone in, switched the stove and oven on and began his preparations.

He was going to make Lindsay the best birthday dinner to date. Albeit he was going to cheat a little, but his mother's lasagne was always better and was Lindsay's favourite. And his mother bless her couldn't do enough to support him in his relationship with Lindsay, so anything he could take from her, he would. As perfect as he wanted it to be, the last thing he wanted to do after working an eleven hour shift was to slave over the stove making a lasagne. Warming it up would just have to do.

Cracking his knuckles he gazed down at the cake mixture. He'd done some prodding earlier in the week – trying to scope out what type of cake Lindsay would want. He had insisted they went to the store together – a rarity for them, and had led her to the home baking aisle. He'd pointed out every single type of cake; chocolate, vanilla, red velvet, carrot... hell, he'd even thrown blueberry in there, and had then proceeded to ask her what her favourite was.

She'd shrugged and pointed towards the traditional vanilla before pointing out the cupcakes and squealing excitedly.

So he had turned into a man with a plan.

He was making her favourite cake in the form of cupcakes. He glanced over to the M&Ms and vanilla icing, his plan swirling in his mind.

Devoted? Yes, yes he was.

A smile tugged at his lips as he looked at his current situation. A year ago there would have been no way in hell he would have planned off of his own back to make cupcakes for Lindsay. It wouldn't have even crossed his mind; but after he had seen how excited she got at the sight of cupcakes he couldn't pass it up.

Glancing at his watch he let out a sigh. He had an hour and a half before Lindsay got home to get the cupcakes done and decorated, the table set, showered and dressed, the candles lit.

"Crap."

He could do it. He could.

Maybe.

Possibly.

At a stretch...

* * *

"Thanks for the ride, Flack." Lindsay smiled as she unclipped her seat belt. "The last thing I wanted was to make my way home alone on the subway."

"Well, Danno asked me to grab you at the end of shift, and a pissy Danny on my ass for not lookin' after his girl is the last thing I want, ya'know?"

"He did?" She asked with raised eyebrows.

"Yeah... I thought he mentioned it."

"I haven't seen him today hardly." Lindsay practically spat at Don. "So I wouldn't know."

"Well, you've got the entire night to yourselves." Flack smirked as he nudged her knowingly. "Don't exhaust him too much with your pregnancy hormones."

Slugging him in the arm, Lindsay placed the strap of her messenger bag on her shoulder as she moved to get out of the car. "He should be so lucky. Thanks again, Don. See you tomorrow."

"Wait, Linds..."

"Yeah?" She sighed, about to shut the car door.

"Happy birthday, kiddo."

She smiled as she shut the door. At least Flack had remembered.

There was still time for Danny to remember... she hoped.

* * *

_She's on her way. _

"Fuck!" Danny cursed as he grabbed the lighter from the breakfast bar and raced into the living room, desperately trying to light the candles before Lindsay made her way up the stairs to their apartment. He estimated that he had about five minutes; roughly depending on how long it had taken Flack to...

He stalled as he heard her key turn in the lock.

"Fuck!" he cried as he desperately tried to light the last few candles.

Hearing the door open and Lindsay dropping her bag, he managed to light the last candle.

He listened to the door shut and then her locking it and then he finally heard movement on her part.

"I'm home..."

He stayed silent for a moment or two, waiting for her to come into his view.

"Danny?"

He smiled as she finally appeared in his line of sight, her face lit up from the glowing of the candlelight. "Happy birthday baby girl."

"What is this...?" Tears were glistening in her eyes.

"Your birthday celebration." He replied with a furrowed brow. "What did you think it was?"

Her mouth opened, but no words could be heard on his part. Quickly, she crossed the room and threw her arms around his neck, holding him as close as she could.

"You made me dinner?" she whispered, glancing to the plates and cutlery sat on the coffee table.

He nodded. "I baked you cupcakes too." He finished with a blush to his cheeks.

"Cupcakes?" She giggled with an arched brow. "Any particular reason?"

"The other day at the store, I was trying to figure out what type of cake to get or make, and you got so excited about those cupcakes, I was like why the heck not..."

"Aw, Danny, that's so sweet. Thank you."

"It's the least I could do after the day you had. It seemed like you were stressed."

She simply bit her lip as she pulled away. She hesitated for a moment, before just letting go of the angst she'd been filled with all day. "Why didn't you wish me happy birthday... you didn't even leave me a note."

"Yes I did." Danny said with an arched brow.

"Um, no you didn't."

"Um, yes, I did."

"No... you didn't." Lindsay insisted.

"Wanna bet?" he smirked as he took her hand and led her through their apartment into the kitchen. "I did, Linds..." He pointed out as his hand moved towards the refrigerator. "Here."

_Mornin' babe. _

_Happy birthday, Montana _

_I'm sorry I wasn't there this morning when you woke up, it wasn't how I wanted your birthday morning to go, but duty called... I'll see you later on today, and I'll make it up to you tonight. _

_D x_

She blinked as her eyes focused on the note, stuck to the fridge with a magnet. "I... I didn't see it."

"Well, you were tossin' and turnin' last night and I didn't want you to roll over and miss the note so I figured I'd tape it to the fridge because I knew you'd want something to eat. Didn't you see it?"

"I didn't get anything to eat... I didn't feel all that hungry."

"Oh Linds..."

"Silly me, I guess." She offered him a smile as she looked around the kitchen before casting her eyes into the living room. She looked enthusiastic, but the look in her eyes told Danny that something wasn't quite right.

"Are you okay?"

"I'm fine."

"And now the truth?" he pressed. "I know that look Linds, you're holdin' back. What's the matter?"

"Honestly?" She sighed as she pulled herself up onto a bar stool that sat at their breakfast bar. "I thought you had forgotten."

"Forgotten... your birthday? Lindsay, I'd never forget your birthday."

She let out a sigh. "You wouldn't?"

"No I wouldn't." He growled before furrowing his brow. "Fuck, it wasn't yesterday was it?"

"No..." she sighed. "No, last year..."

"Last year?"

"You forgot."

"I did?"

"Yes Danny, you informed me that guys weren't wired for remembering dates, but sports stats and steak sides were more your kind of thing... After of course handing me a lovely set of centrifuge tubes filled with DNA samples."

"I did? All I could come up with is sport stats and steak sides?"

She nodded slowly with the same hurt look on her face as she did the year previous. "Yep."

"Wow... I... I completely forgot about that." He ran his fingers through his hair before rubbing the back of his neck. "Jesus... I was a such dick." He concluded.

"Yeah, you were." She said quietly as she shuffled in her seat.

"Why didn't you beat me over the head with the DNA samples?"

"Who's saying it didn't cross my mind?"

"Well, all I can say about that is I'm sorry you thought I had forgotten. The person I am now would never forget your birthday. And the guy that _did _forget your birthday was a waste of your time and I hope if you ever run into that guy again, you knock him the fuck out."

"I just might." She paused and took a deep breath before letting it out slowly. "Why didn't you say anything to me?" She pondered."Why didn't you wish me a happy birthday when you came into the office?"

"Honestly? I don't know babe... I had left you the note and I knew what I had planned so that was that for your birthday. I just figured you were mad about something that had happened and we'd talk about it later. If I had thought it was me you were pissed at then I wouldn't have left you alone."

"But a happy birthday kiss would have been nice..."

"I gave you a massage!" He chuckled. "That's better than a kiss..."

"I was mad at you for forgetting..."

"You have to spell it out for me if you're mad, Linds... I'm trying but sometimes I still need that nudge."

"I just figured you'd forgotten and that was that. What do you expect me to think Danny... it's not as if you did anything last year, is it?"

Danny sighed. "One of these days, you'll trust me."

"What is that supposed to mean?"

"You honestly thought I had forgotten your birthday? Linds... I thought you had more faith in me than that."

"Well going off your past record Danny, it didn't look too good when you didn't say anything."

Biting his tongue, Danny shrugged the conversation off. As much as it did hurt, she was in a way right. His past record did him no favours; but she also had to learn to trust the person he was now. He was trying really hard to be the person she wanted and needed, and in order to do that properly he needed her trust.

"I'm sorry." She whispered. "It just... it wasn't the day I expected."

"Well, let's make it the night you were hoping for."

She turned on the stool and smiled as she snuggled into him, wrapping her arms around his torso as best she could.

He pressed a kiss to the top of her head before he reached behind her and off the breakfast bar. He grabbed something and held it behind her back so that she had no idea what it was.

"Now, this isn't the present you were probably wanting or expecting but it's something more practical." He began. "You have everything you could ever need and I was struggling to come up with any ideas... And then when this came to me, I kind of went for it. So, here... Happy birthday, darlin'."

Lindsay glanced down to the envelope that he had handed her. It looked like a gift certificate of sorts. She wasn't entirely sure what to expect.

"Open it..." He prompted.

Taking his advice, she opened it and unfolded the piece of paper. As her eyes absorbed what it said, she simply stared at the piece of paper. "Danny..."

"They don't do the paper tickets anymore." He shrugged in defeat. "So a confirmation email will have to do for now."

"You got me tickets?"

"To Montana." He smiled. "I know you were worrying about the money and everything, and I know that you didn't want your parents to buy it, considering all that they've sent so far for the baby... So I've been pulling extra shifts and when I checked the other day the amount I'd saved up it had.. Well, it covered the cost... and then left me with a little to take you out for lunch before your flight."

"You... you bought me tickets?"

Danny cringed; her voice not really giving anything away. "You don't like it? It was a bad idea?"

She slid down from the bar stool and pushed up on her tiptoes the best she could. Lindsay then brushed her lips against his as she wrapped her arms around his neck, drawing him closer to her and sealing their lips together in a loving and thankful kiss.

"You do like it?" he whispered against her lips after she had pulled away.

"I love it."

"So it wasn't a completely stupid idea?"

"It was the most thoughtful and romantic present ever."

"... I paid for you to disappear for two weeks, Linds."

"No, you paid for me to go and see my parents, Danny... with money you'd worked for."

"It's not much though. Nothin' really to show for what I got you, ya'know?"

"The thought you put into it means so much more than anything you could have possibly bought." She smiled and pressed another kiss to his lips. "Thank you."

They fell into a comfortable silence as Lindsay stared down at the paper confirmation. A smile tugged at her lips as she let out a sigh; a sigh Danny didn't miss.

"You seem... relieved." Danny said with narrowed eyes. "What did you think I was going to get you?"

"I didn't care. I just wanted you to remember." She whispered as she wrapped her arms around his neck. "That's all I wanted."

"So you didn't want a fuss and an extravagant present and all the stuff I know you secretly wanted?"

"When I woke up this morning that is exactly what I wanted." She admitted. "I wanted you to make me feel like a princess and for you to have something amazing planned, but as the day passed... I realised that all I wanted was to spend time with you... for you to remember."

"Are you sure it's not because you expected me to screw up?"

"Danny, where in this did you screw up? You bought me plane tickets to Montana... that is a huge weight I have off my mind; and like you said, there's nothing else I need. Not to mention the thoughtfulness behind the idea of buying them."

He smiled. "So you're happy with the tickets?"

She nodded. "I love that you did that."

"Hungry?" He asked as she stood on his tiptoes, looking towards the coffee table that was set with cutlery.

"Starving." She smiled. "I smell Lasagne?"

"You do." He confirmed as he took her hand, leading her to the table filled with candles and dimmed lights.

"Did you make it?"

"Nope." He smirked. "Consider it my Ma's present to you... The cupcakes are all mine and Betty Crocker though."

"I'll make sure to thank Betty." Lindsay smirked.

As they made their way into the living room, Lindsay's heart swelled at the sight. He'd rearranged the furniture a little so that both he and Lindsay could sit comfortably on the couch and eat dinner off of the coffee table.

"I figured sitting on the floor wouldn't really fly, what with you being seven months pregnant." He explained. "And sitting at the breakfast bar wouldn't have been so romantic."

"I don't even care." She smiled widely. "I'm just... so happy."

"I might not always show it Linds, but I do love you, and I am trying here. And even though I look like a jerk for not sayin' anythin' now... I hope that this all makes up for what you thought I hadn't done... if that makes sense."

"It does." She nodded. "And it's perfect. And I'm sorry for being mean and all hormonal... If I wasn't so pregnant I probably wouldn't have been so bitchy."

"Meh, you were in your own right to be bitchy... even though you weren't." He quickly added.

Giggling, Lindsay pulled Danny towards her and rest her head on his chest, feeling his heart beat through her shirt.

"So, you hungry?" Danny pressed, bringing Lindsay from her thoughts.

"Starving." She smiled as she let go of him. "So don't be shy when you're dishing it out... I'll send you back if it's unacceptable." She glanced at her watch before smiling. "It's my birthday for another three hours, that means I'm the boss."

"That's my girl." He smirked as he padded into the kitchen.

Lindsay took a seat as she took in the sights of the decorated room. As pissed, hurt and upset as she had been earlier... his efforts made up for it. It was a definite lack of communication on their parts – which showed her she needed to speak up when there was something bothering her. He'd told her out right that he needed things spelling out for him; and if he was trying to meet her half way then...

As much as she had wanted to spend her day doing something special, the more she thought about it, the more she realised this was all she wanted. Danny. Their baby. A nice meal. Giggles and laughter. Everything else she had thought she wanted, she hadn't really. Not really.

It was the simple things in life that made her the happiest.

And Danny was at the top of that list.

* * *

**I hope it wasn't as meh, as I feel it was. And Megssssss, I hope you liked it. I promise, I'll make Fred be nicer next song you request (and any of you guys if you have any ideas... feel free!) **

**Thanks for reading - any feedback is muchly appreciated! :) **


	41. Bless the Broken Road

**A/N: Apparently I have a thing against sleep and don't believe in sleeping like a normal person, regardless of the time zone I'm in. I work on US time when I'm in the UK, and UK time when I'm in the US. Not asking.**

**Anyway, this chapter is a little different, but as we're progressing to the more canon-ish stuff of the show I thought it might be interesting to combine the two. I don't want to give it away in my A/N, so I'm actually keeping quiet. You'll just have to see ;)**

******Italics denote a flashback - just so we're clear hehe.**  


**And while I'm on the topic of talking randomly, I just want to say wow and hug you all. Nearly 700 reviews for 40 chapters is a little insane. You guys are amazing. Thank you all so much for your support with this story! So with this in mind - thank you to those of you who read (and reviewed) last chapter. Special mentions to:** piper maru duchovny, brendanakai, webdlfan, rapidtetv, uscrocks, Christina5139, bluelilyrose, iheartcsinewyork, saderia, boduke4ever, messermonroeforever125, rhymenocerous, afrozenheart412 and 18lzytwner. You guys are amazing!

**P.s. Megs, told you I'd update at 4am :P**

**

* * *

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**Set during 4x01/5x17.**

* * *

**Bless the Broken Road – Rascal Flatts**

_This much I know is true; that God blessed the broken road that led me straight to you._

_

* * *

_

"_Are you sure you like it?" _

"_Lindsay, I don't like it... I love it. I already told you that." _

"_I know but it's just... so short."_

"_Will you stop? It's cute. I like it."_

_Mac Taylor furrowed his brow, his interest peaking at the conversation he could hear just outside his office door. Lindsay Monroe surely wasn't asking Danny Messer for his opinion on her new hair – and Danny Messer surely hadn't just assured Lindsay Monroe that her hair was 'cute' and he 'loved it'. _

"_Wow... you take ten days off and the universe shifts." He chuckled quietly to himself, wondering whether they'd continue their conversation. _

"_So, where are we going tonight?" Lindsay's voice sounded. Mac licked his lips, not really wanting to hear the conversation at hand, but extremely interested nonetheless. _

_He turned in his seat and focused his eyes on an arm that leant against the wall; an arm that was distinctly Danny's. "I don't care whatever you wanna do." _

"_Thanks for the input, darlin'." She drawled, clearly making fun of her partner. _

_Mac raised his eyebrows. He wasn't sure whether partner was the correct term for them anymore. Partners in a different sense, perhaps. _

"_Well Montana, what do you want me to say? Meet at mine?"_

"_Why can't we just go together?" she pushed. "Spend some more time together..."_

"_Well, I'd prefer that but don't you wanna get changed?"_

"_I have some clothes in my locker." She explained. "I thought you might suggest we go somewhere after shift and I didn't want to spend an hour going back and forth."_

"_I knew you were my girlfriend for a reason..."_

"_Danny!" Lindsay cried. _

"_Oh hush, no one can hear us."_

_Mac bit his lip as he suppressed his grin. If only Danny knew... Girlfriend? He should have left his office five minutes ago to avoid hearing an inappropriate, but private conversation nonetheless – but he couldn't help the pride and elation coursing through him. _

"_Now that Mac's back Danny, we need to... you know, talk to him?"_

"_He's probably sleepin'... let him be."_

"_Oh please." Mac could feel the eye-roll from Lindsay as she disregarded Danny's response. "You think you know him more than I do? Mac isn't asleep Danny... he's probably sat in his of..."_

_Mac leaned forward a little, waiting for Lindsay to finish. The abrupt silence had left him a little wary and quickly stood, and made his way out of the front of his office. He pressed his back against the wall and let out a sigh of relief as he felt vibrations of Danny and Lindsay knocking on the glass panel next to the open door at the back of his office. _

_It was one thing eavesdropping – but it was another thing getting caught. _

_He pushed up from the wall and decided to take a walk, making his way around the lab; showing his face and overlooking activities... and he could use it as an alibi._

_As he turned to look down the hallway leading to his office, he fought the smile on his face. "Lindsay!" _

"_Oh, hey Mac." She returned the smile, but with a nervous disposition as she headed towards him. "I was just looking for you."_

"_Oh you were?" Mac smirked. "I was looking for you too. You and Danny actually."_

"_You were?" Lindsay's eyes went wide and coughed. "You were?" she tried again, with a calmer tone and softer pitch to her voice. _

"_Yeah... I was just going to let you know that you can take off now. You must be exhausted; it's been a long day..."_

"_Yeah." Lindsay nodded as she faked a yawn. "I'm really tired actually. I'm sure Danny is too. You sure it's okay if we both take off?"_

"_Absolutely." Mac nodded. "Perhaps you could even spend some time together. I hope you've thanked him for taking your shift..." _

_Lindsay paled in her complexion and stared on at Mac. "I... uh yeah... We went out to dinner; I had to cut his steak up for him... what with his broken knuckles. He loved having me at his command."_

"_Oh, I bet that was just lovely... him being able to take advantage like that." Mac replied, in a tone even he surprised himself with; an 'I'm onto you' type of tone. "Well, anyway. Have a nice night whatever you decide to do, Lindsay." _

"_Thanks Mac, I'm sure we will... doing you know, our own separate thing."_

"_Of course." He nodded. _

_Offering him a smile, Lindsay turned on her heel and practically skipped down the hallway to find Danny; who conveniently was situated at the end of the hallway, gawping at Mac and Lindsay as they conversed. _

_Mac smiled as he watched Lindsay skid into him and excitedly tell him they had the rest of the night off. Together they turned and headed off down towards the locker room, giving Mac the chance to head back to his office. _

_He had known something had happened the day (or night before, he cringed) of the drug bust. Danny's excuse of Lindsay taking care of some personal stuff hadn't sat well with Mac. He'd known Danny long enough to spy a white lie in the young man's eyes, but he'd let it go – figuring that they'd had a hell of a lot of work to do, and he needed someone at the warehouse; he hadn't cared who it was. _

_Looking back, a part of him was glad Danny had taken whatever opportunity that had been given to him (Mac didn't particularly want to know) and had taken Lindsay's shift. Dealing with a terrified Lindsay was a hell of a lot easier than dealing with a frantic and pissed off Danny. Judging from the phone call he'd gotten before he and Peyton had boarded the plane to London from Stella, both Danny and Adam were pretty beat up; with Lindsay being glued to a certain blue-eyed Detective's hospital bed. With this in mind, Mac knew that there was no way events would have played out in a similar way had the roles been reversed. He knew there would have been no way on the God's earth Danny would have sat back and let Lindsay be taken hostage – not that Lindsay had wanted to just sit and watch it unfold in front of her. She was just... well, she wasn't Danny. _

_Usually he wasn't one for office romances, but for Danny and Lindsay he made an exception. He knew he probably shouldn't favour them like he did, but he just couldn't help it. They just... they were Danny and Lindsay. They gave him some form of hope.__He'd been the one to see the sparks as they made their introductions outside of the Tiger enclosure; and he'd known from then on that something would happen. Granted he didn't think it would take as long as it had, but it apparently had happened – just like he thought. _

_They were a good match. He thought to himself as he saw the first signs of them leaving the locker room together – their bodies ridiculously close together._

_He shook his head and smiled at their antics. They were racing to push the elevator button and were now slugging each other in the arm. And even though it was ridiculously inappropriate for the workplace, it was nice to see them so... carefree – for once. __His eyes watched as Danny nudged her in the elevator and pinned her against the wall, to which then Mac glanced away. He made a mental note of telling them off the record to just remember where they were in their throes of passion... or at least wait until the elevator was closed before they pinned each other against the wall._

_Mac picked up the stack of files on his desk and began to thumb through the top one, smiling to himself; pleased for his friends as he watched the elevator door closed._

_

* * *

_

"Lindsay'll be back before you know it, Danny." Mac smiled, still reeling from his momentary blast back into the past before Danny had disturbed his thoughts.

"I asked her to marry me Mac. You know that? She told me no. She said that I was only asking her because she was pregnant."

"Is she right?" A small smile tugged at his lips; Danny's real reason in coming to Mac slowly revealing itself.

"No." He said instantly before reconsidering his answer. "I mean I... I don't know, Mac." Mac watched as Danny internally fought with himself, trying to figure out how much he wanted to share with his boss. "I mean I love her. I do. I know that. I just know myself and I don't want to disappoint her... or the kid."

"Those fears are normal, Danny. I know that because I felt the same way with Claire. All those doubts about who you are, and what you're capable of." He continued on, meeting Danny halfway almost with revelations; sharing with him how he regretted the fact that he'd never given children with Claire a chance.

He could see the words that he'd shared with Danny doing more harm than good as he young man let out a laboured sigh, still inwardly debating his dilemma. Standing and moving himself from where he had been sitting; he made his way over to the front of the desk and perched on the edge, making their talk seem a little less formal. Too many times he'd sat across from Danny, reprimanding him for one thing or another. This though – Mac wanted to show Danny that he'd made the right decision in seeking out advice, and he just hoped that the advice he was about to share made a difference to his colleague.

"Danny, God bought you and Lindsay together. I believe that. And you have been blessed with a gift; the greatest gift that life has to offer. Now, you can live in a place of fear; or believe in the best version of yourself."

"Thank you... Thanks... appreciate that."

"Don't mention it." He smiled, hopeful that something he'd said had helped him.

As Mac watched Danny leave, he let the last bit of reassurance for his friend pass his lips.

"Danny?"

"Yeah..."

"You're going to make a great father."

The smile Danny offered Mac in appreciation of his kind words filled Mac with a sense of accomplishment and achievement in actually making a difference. He took a seat back on the edge of his desk and gave himself a moment to think about the last few minutes events.

Moments prior to Danny knocking on his office door, Mac had been reeling from the random blast back into the past about the night he'd finally gotten confirmation about Danny and Lindsay and their inevitable relationship. And while he had initially thought it was random – it now made sense. He wasn't sure whether he had been able to sense the hesitation on the young couple's part, knowing that Lindsay leaving was quickly approaching – or whether it was Danny's apprehension about her leaving.

Either way, the moment he'd spent back in 2007 had apparently given him the wisdom for the Danny of 2009 and had effectively given him the helping hand he'd needed.

Danny's admission about loving Lindsay had caught Mac off guard, and he figured that it was what allowed him to open so much about Claire. He could see how much Danny was sharing, and wanted to give him the same in return.

Mac genuinely hoped that Danny would be able to believe in the version of himself that Lindsay quite obviously adored. He knew that the faith was there – he just wasn't sure whether Danny was personally in a place where he could willingly allow himself to take the leap and jump when it came to trusting himself.

And while he was sure that whatever Danny decided to do would be the right decision – Mac hoped and prayed that they'd get there sooner rather than later.

Mac was aware of the ups and downs they'd incurred throughout their relationship – and it was a testament to their characters in persevering and making their relationship work in the way that they had.

Whatever they ended up doing - marriage or not - God had blessed the road that led Danny to Lindsay, and Lindsay to Danny - and Mac was sure that he'd continue to bless whatever journey they found themselves on; be it parenthood, marriage or life in general.

What mattered was that they'd found their way to the other, and together they'd always be able to make it.

That much he knew.

* * *

**I would just like to note that I hope you all appreciate the time I took re-watching both 4****x01 and 5x17. It was such an effo... I can't even finish that sentence. Hahaha. Any thoughts and feedback, are - as ever - greatly appreciated. ****Thanks for reading - hope you enjoyed. **


	42. I Do Cherish You

**A/N: Hi all! Me again... at an actual normal person time! *shock horror* hehehe. I was stuck for something to do today as watching crap on TV began to lose it's appeal until I remembered I had this chapter ready to post. Quicker than what I usually update, but I figured you all wouldn't mind? I hope that's the case at least!**

**Special thanks to all of you who read (and reviewed!) last chapter. I hope you enjoyed it. Mentions to**: rapidtetv, NothatRose, webdlfan, afrozenheart412, Christina5139, montanascreed, brendanakai, uscrocks, messermonroeforever125, saderia, Dine89 and 18lzytwner. **You guys are awesome! :)**

* * *

**This one is set during the episode 5x17; after Mac and Danny's talk in the office. **

* * *

**I Do (Cherish You) – Mark Wills**

_I do, cherish you, for the rest of my life you don't have to think twice. I will love you still, from the depths of my soul; it's beyond my control. I've waited so long to say this to you... If you're asking do I love you this much, I do._

_

* * *

_

Running his fingers through his hair, Danny stared into the full length mirror that sat in his and Lindsay's bedroom.

His previous proposal to Lindsay months ago had been pathetic. He knew that, and quite frankly when he looked back he cringed. He'd been way too nervous. He hadn't really known what to say; hence the outburst of questions that he'd thrown at her.

And then, just a little under a month ago, he'd thrown a road block into their relationship. He'd made a huge mistake and had really hurt Lindsay.

Although it had felt like forever at the time, just as quickly as he'd hurt her, she'd forgiven him. They'd talked it through and had promised each other that changes needed to be made. And so far, there had been changes. Little ones, but they were changes nonetheless.

Danny turned and looked at her suitcase that was sat in the corner of their room; taunting him. It was the indicator that although it was still empty; within two days it would be filled with maternity clothes and everything else Lindsay needed – and it would already be on a plane in transit to Montana. If he had anything to do with it; he was going to make sure that Lindsay Monroe was sporting the ring he had kept in his office drawer for the past five months when she got off that plane on the other side.

He could see it in her eyes that she wanted to go, and he couldn't deny her that. As much as he longed to keep her with him in New York, he knew that he had to let her do it... alone. That's why he hadn't bought tickets for the both of them. She needed to go and spend time with her family. See her brothers, her sister... spend quality time with her parents. Throughout Lindsay's pregnancy, they'd missed so much. If he was to go with her it would have take away from Lindsay being pregnant as Lindsay's parents would have been properly meeting Danny, as Lindsay's boyfriend. He knew that there would be the chance for him to go with her to Montana. It was just that now wasn't the right time.

He took a deep breath as he looked at his dishevelled appearance. The last few days had really taken its toll on him. He'd not slept well, knowing that in a few days he'd be sleeping alone. And then he'd thought about how Lindsay and their baby would be across the country, a plane ride away if anything – God forbid – was to happen while they were away. It didn't sit right with him, knowing that it would be a struggle to get to Lindsay's side if something did happen. Lindsay's Braxton Hicks contractions had sent them into a mad panic and had shown him how truly scary it was to be in that type of situation.

And then of course, he was thinking about ways in which he could get Lindsay to the place where she wanted to be his wife. He had to do something... say something to convince her. He wanted her to say yes to him so bad that it physically hurt. She'd told him that she did want to marry him but hadn't given him a time frame, and since their night babysitting Alyssa neither of them had mentioned it further. And while what she had said filled him with hope, it also hurt him a little that she still wasn't in the same place he was. He tried not to take it to heart. He tried desperately to steer his thoughts away from that long path but once his mind thought about it, he felt the awful feeling in the pit of his stomach; knowing that there was nothing he could do. He had to give her the space she needed. The space she deserved.

He ran his fingers through his hair as he reached into his jeans pocket and pulled out the box that contained what was going to be Lindsay's ring. He opened the box and didn't bother to fight the smile on his lips as he stared at it. In the five months since he had purchased the ring, he'd memorised it's every feature. He'd spent hours concentrating on the way it glistened in the light, or how it would look on Lindsay's finger. He found himself picturing Lindsay's face when he finally showed it to her.

And this was all coming from a man that said he'd never fall in love; or get married for that matter.

He'd come a long way in four years.

'You can either live in a place of fear, or believe in the best version of yourself.' Ever since he had shared the conversation with Mac in his office, those words had rung in Danny's mind. There was no doubt in his mind that those words had been the most valuable piece of advice Mac had ever given him. Sure, Mac telling him that he'd fall in love someday obviously stayed in his mind as the statement that was so close to the truth it was like the powers that be had planned it. There was just something about Mac's latest piece of advice that hit somewhere deep inside of him.

He knew for a fact he was scared. He was damn terrified at how fast everything in his life had changed over the past year. He knew that he was living in a place of fear, and sometimes even denial. He had simply left Lindsay to fight with her internal battles because he'd been too afraid of her reasons in saying no. He knew that she was just being cautious, but babies learnt how to walk... they didn't take those small steps forever.

He sat on the edge of their bed and placed the ring next to him. He was tired of being afraid. When he and Lindsay were together, they made sense; there was no denying that. He knew that without one, the other couldn't function. Their time apart just recently had proved that.

She was everything he'd always wanted. He hadn't known it to begin with, but she was. He wasn't about to say it was love at first sight because if he was perfectly honest, at first sight she'd seemed too angelic, too childlike... too... out of his league; like she wouldn't have given him a second thought. But as he got to knew her, (and she got to know him) he realised how wrong his initial impression of Lindsay he had been. She was still angelic, and sometimes she acted like a little girl... but those were things he loved about her. His insecurities told him almost every day that she was way out of his league and was too good for him, but those were his insecurities and he'd have to deal with those by himself.

Everything else aside, he knew for a fact that he could spend the rest of his life with her.

He cast his mind back to their stroll with Ruben in the park; before any of their drama had knocked them down. He had told her that he knew she wasn't the definition of the guy that she should probably have been dating, but he knew that he could be that guy. He had really tried in the time since finding out about their baby in working towards being the guy she needed... the guy she wanted, as he had told her. Of course he had slipped up, but had quickly gotten back on track and continued his attempt to be the guy that she wanted. He cherished her and he loved her from the depths of his soul. And he hoped that would be enough for her.

He took a deep breath as his fingers curled around his cell phone. He searched his phone book for the number he'd programmed in earlier that day after doing a little research on Google. He held the phone to his ear as he sat and waited for the recipient at the other end to answer the call.

"City hall."

"Hi," Danny swallowed his nerves. "I'm looking to arrange a wedding ceremony."

"When would you like it?"

Danny took a deep breath. "Is tomorrow too soon?"

"Tomorrow?" The voice at the other end repeated with disbelief. "Um, I guess we could somehow... Give me a second."

With his heart racing, Danny sat fiddling with his ring; opening and closing the box. The second the woman on the other end of the phone had asked for seemed like an eternity.

"Sir?"

"Yes, hi..." Danny stuttered.

"Okay, so I've managed to switch some things around, but it's going to be a late one; would four o'clock be okay? You'd have to take the last appointment."

"That's absolutely fine," Danny said as a smile stretched across his face. "In fact, that works perfectly."

"Great. What name can I make the reservation for?"

"Messer-Monroe." He said with butterflies rising in his stomach. "Actually, just Messer."

"Okay, you'll need to come down and pick up the money order tomorrow morning; around nine o'clock if you can because we usually ask for the money orders to be in your procession for at least a day."

"Sure."

"And you'll need to make sure you have two witnesses as well."

"Absolutely. Consider it done."

"Alright then, I think that's everything. If you have any questions..."

"I'll make sure to call. Thank you for your help, I appreciate it."

Danny smiled proudly at his phone as he disconnected the call. He took a moment for his nerves to cease beating in his chest, and just as they were about to settle, a voice sounded from the bedroom door, sending his heart back into his throat.

"Who was that?"

Danny swallowed. "How long were you stood there?"

"Long enough to know that someone should consider something done... and you appreciate someone's help."

Danny prayed that was all that Lindsay had heard.

"I didn't hear you come in," he smiled nervously at her.

"So who was on the phone?" she smiled.

"I was just callin' the parkin' guys at JFK; trying to get a pre-booked parking spot for when I drop you off at the airport. Thought I'd call ahead. It's a bitch tryin' to find parkin' you know?" In reality he had no idea if there was even such a thing.

"That's a clever idea. I didn't know they did that." She smiled as she sat on the bed and pressed a kiss to his cheek. Glancing down at the comforter, Danny saw the open ring box, staring up at him. Once again, he felt his heart racing within his chest. He shuffled in his position and then lay down; ensuring that the, now, closed box was digging into his back.

"It's been a long day." He yawned.

"It has." She agreed sadly. "And I have to pack yet."

"Right now?" he implored with a sigh.

"Well, not right now." She chuckled as she turned on the bed. "Show off... I can't lie down like that anymore."

"Aww, poor baby."

Silence fell between them for a few moments as Danny desperately fought for his heart to stop racing. He could tell that Lindsay was deep in thought, and he just prayed that she wasn't processing everything she'd just heard and seen.

"Do you love me?" she finally smiled at him as he sat up and carefully picked up the ring box, shoving it into his pocket.

"I do." He whispered; anxiety rising within his stomach, knowing that he'd hopefully repeat those same words tomorrow at four o'clock. "With all of my heart."

A shy smile curled on her lips as she laced her fingertips through his. "I love you too."

Danny glanced down at their intertwined hands as the anxiety in his stomach refused to settle. He took in the appearance of Lindsay's left ring finger that was bare and as he did so, he fought the smile on his lips. Tomorrow; he thought to himself. Tomorrow would be the day that he showed his girlfriend just how much he cherished, loved and adored her. And how hopefully, all of that would somehow be enough to base the rest of their lives on.

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**Thanks for tuning in for the latest chapter - hope you enjoyed this one. **

**As ever, comments and thoughts are much appreciated. Thanks for reading! :] **


	43. Like Only A Woman Can

**A/N: Hi guys. Sorry I kind of left you guys hanging there for a while. I'm at my Grandparents this weekend, but had a brainwave of sorts and I copied and pasted this chapter into an email before I left so I had it here if I found a second to finish it I would be able to post. So this being said, I'm unsure of it's quality because I have a seven year old shadow in the form of my sister that will NOT leave me alone... it might not be my best, but hopefully you guys will like it regardless. Dedicated to FoxPhile. I'll take a blueberry muffin and cinnamon coffee thank you, my dear! Hehe. You asked and I changed some things, pushed others back and came up with this. It's not exactly what you suggested in your review, but well... I'll let you be the judge! :] I hope you - and everyone else - likes it! **

**Huge thank you as always to everyone who read (and reviewed). I guess it didn't occur to me but I was busting them out last week, so you guys are amazing for still giving me the feedback. Special mention to: **dl-shipper34, christina1359, Dine89, Jupitors-cowgirl, FoxPhile, Montanascreed, Jennifer34285, rhymenocerous, ZoeyBug, iheartcsinewyork, rapidetv, afrozenheart412, 18lzytwner, saderia, messermonroeforever125, bluelilyrose and unlikelyRLshipper.

* * *

**Like Only a Woman Can – Bryan McFadden**

_I wasn't perfect, I done a lot of stupid things. Still no angel. I wasn't looking for forgiveness; I wasn't laid up by my pride... Just shocked by her attention. Did someone sign me up for love? I didn't want it, but now I can't live without it. She changed my life, she cleaned me up, she found my heart... Like only a woman can._

* * *

Placing a small box on the edge of Mac Taylor's desk, Danny Messer let out a confident puff of air.

Simply raising an eyebrow, Mac observed the small box. "Danny?"

"I'm doing it Mac," Danny smiled. "This is it."

"You're proposing?"

Danny nodded.

"Can I look?" Mac gestured to the ring box.

Danny nodded again, a nervous smile gracing his lips. He pushed it forwards and let Mac reach the rest of the way.

Mac slowly opened the box, and a small breath escaped him as he took in the sight of Lindsay's ring. "Wow. This is quite the ring." Pausing for a minute he looked up and met Danny's eyes. "Won't she notice the dip in your bank account though, Danny?"

"Well she didn't notice it five months ago when I bought it so I'm going to go with a no."

"Five months ago?" He commented, eyes filled with surprise. "This isn't a spur of the moment thing I like I originally thought, is it?"

"In a word, no."

"Well, although this is all very nice... what's my role in it?"

"What are you doing at four o'clock this afternoon?"

"Well Stella and I were..."

"You're free then?" Danny jumped at Mac's hesitance.

"In a word, yes."

"Want to be witnesses to mine and Lindsay's wedding?" He grinned.

Mac blinked. "Does Lindsay know about this?"

"Technically, no. But I'll worry about that later."

"You do realise she might say no, right?" Mac informed him carefully. "What then?"

"She might say yes." Danny shrugged. "And then I'll have what I always wanted. I'm done with being afraid of this Mac. It's time I stood up and acted on what I want. I know she wants this too. She's just scared."

"So, Stella and I..." Mac smiled. "Four o'clock? Where?"

"City Hall."

* * *

_Stella and I are waiting on you two. We picked up some flowers. _

Shoving his phone back in his pocket, he rejoined his linked arm with Lindsay's and smiled brightly.

"Who was that?"

"My friends. They're holdin' on for us."

Lindsay rolled her eyes as they began to fight the hustle and bustle of city hall. "Danny, what the hell are we doing here? I'm leaving in the morning... I gotta pack!"

"You don't have to remind me that you're leaving." He growled, disconnecting their linked arms. "It's _all _I've been thinking about."

"Well then what are we doing here? Who are these friends I have to meet all of a sudden?"

"I think uh-" His hand fell to her back as he led her a little further down the hallway. "It's just around the corner here."

Although his heart had been racing before, it had just increased tenfold as he saw the door he'd been knocking on eight hours previous, waiting to pick up a money order for twenty five dollars.

_This is it_, he thought to himself as he swallowed the nervous lump in his throat. His eyes searched her expression as he basically laid it out to her silently. She was smart, and he was a million percent positive she knew exactly what was going on.

"Danny..."

She turned with a mixture of emotions in her eyes. Disappointment, he thought but prayed it wasn't. Uncertainty of what he was asking of her. Questions - God, did she have questions in her eyes. But everything that he could see in her eyes was overlooked by what he knew what she was feeling and thinking. She was scared. Terrified in fact by what he was putting on the table in front of her. He knew that although she loved him she was still scared of something happening, which would inevitably break her heart for what would probably be the last time. They both knew that something else happening between them would seal the end of their relationship; there was only so much she could take. And there was only so much he could expect her to take.

He exhaled, effectively preparing himself before he pushed down the very last tower that he had built around himself years upon years ago. It was the one thing holding him back and was the only thing left in his life that was making sure that he lived in a place of fear.

He was done with that chapter of his life.

"Look, I'm tired of being afraid. Alright?" Swinging his arms so they swiped his thighs, he mentally shoved the tower away from him – giving him the freedom to share everything he needed to with her, because to him – this was his last chance. "You and me, we make sense, k?" He paused for a moment as he watched her glance between him and the door. He could see that she was inwardly freaking out with what he had thrust upon her and presented her with. He needed something to get her attention; something honest that would show her he wasn't messing around. That this was real for them. "You're everything I've always wanted. I want to be with you." Her softening features gave him the determination to carry on. "And I can be the guy that you want me to be. I know I can. I am that guy."

He watched as her eyes widened at the repeated use of something he'd said so often to her.

"I know you are." She replied as she finally found her voice.

"Well then let's walk through this door together." He swallowed as he could hear his own voice breaking. They were so close to the rest of their lives, and he just hoped and prayed that she would trust in him, and believe that this was the right time for them. "C'mon, let's do it. Let's take that leap."

He let out a final breath as mentally stepped back and waited. He'd put everything out on the table and it was on her; it was inevitably her decision now.

The silence was killing him as he shifted his weight on his converse clad feet. Seeing her edge towards him; his heart raced in his chest as she pressed her lips to his. Instantly he was filled with dread. He had visions of her pulling away and walking back down the hallway from which they'd just come. And when she pulled away, he kept his eyes closed for a moment, waiting for the blow in his gut.

But it never came.

"You got that money order?"

A grin stretched across his face as she moved to embrace him in a hug, and surprisingly – his heart began to settle. The hardest part was over with. This had been what he'd wanted ever since that December morning, stood opposite her in the park with a donut in her one hand and cup of tea in the other.

They weren't conventional, but that made them what they were. It made them Danny and Lindsay.

As he reached for the door and pushed it open for her, he smiled at the knowledge he had of what awaited her. Like the text message had said, there stood Mac Taylor and Stella Bonasera - dead on the dot, four o'clock – like he had promised they would after he had shared his intentions with Mac earlier in the day.

He smiled, his heart and chest nearly exploding with the enthusiasm and happiness on Lindsay's face at the sight of their two co-workers and friends stood, waiting to share their moment with them. The enthusiasm and happiness told him that there was no doubt in Lindsay's mind when she'd asked him whether he had a money order. He dared to even think she was as ready for this as he was.

"Congratulations," Mac chuckled into her ear, before handing Danny the ring box with a smile.

Stepping forward, Danny let out a sigh of relief. Somehow, despite everything they'd been through – they'd made it.

He wasn't perfect and he'd done a lot of things in his life that he wasn't proud of. When he had met Lindsay, he'd been cruel and he had done his best to push her away from him and New York; angry with her for Aiden doing what she had done. Of course, that anger had been misdirected and the rational side of him knew that, but when Lindsay had given him as good as what she'd received from him... He'd been shocked by the attention. She could have just walked away and completely disregarded him and his childish nature, but she hadn't. She'd stood her ground and offered him a challenge. The anger he'd had at the whole situation had changed. And somewhere down the line someone had signed him up for love. Originally it had terrified him; the fact that Lindsay was able to get under his skin and set up camp in the places that she had scared him to no end. But like he'd told her outside in the hallway, he was done with being afraid. And as he watched her say I do and as his fingers slid her ring onto her hand, he let out a contented sigh. She was perfect. Her smile bright; her eyes full of love... He might not have been perfect. But she definitely was. And even though he had his imperfections, she loved him in only a way Lindsay could.

As he pressed his lips to her's, he felt an unknown feeling coursing through his body. When he pulled away he thought that he could see the same look in her eyes as she smiled at him. Granted, he didn't know about her, but for him – he identified the feeling as an undying love for his wife.

He watched her as she picked up the pen, ready to sign her name on the marriage certificate and just like his heart had raced out in the hallway, it was racing again as he watched as her pen formed the words Lindsay Messer.

She was his wife. Finally.

She'd changed his life. She'd cleaned up his act. She'd dug around inside of him until she'd found his heart and when she eventually found it, she'd brushed it off and had then decided to keep it for herself. She'd managed to get him through his toughest times. She had been there to catch him when he hit rock bottom and she worked with him, despite how much he'd hurt her, to get him back to the person she'd made him into; not out of force, but out of love.

And even though it wasn't a perfect wedding with an extravagant dress and the whole nine yards, for them, it was perfect.

* * *

**Well, there we go folks. I hope it was something along the lines of what you were hoping for. Let me know what you thought - I'd appreciate it! :) **

**And finally, thanks for reading! **


	44. Bandaid

**A/N: After tweaking this into oblivion I figured it would be better to just post and stop talking myself out of it. I desperately wanted to skip this one and go to the next chapter I have planned but I was determined to get this one done because as much as I don't have the feel for it, I hope you guys will. It seems to be a general thing that you guys are enjoying the role of the others in DL's relationship and what not, so I wanted to take what you guys have said and try it out. **

**And after Danny sharing his innermost thoughts last chapter, I felt it was only fair for a role reversal. hehe. **

**Speaking of... I'm so glad you all liked last chapter. After I posted I was like oh no... but it's just me being self critical it seems (I hope!) as usual! I really appreciate all the lovely feedback you always guys give me. It's really encouraging and Fred loves the attention. hahah. So, special mentions and hugs to: **rhymenocerous, dl-shipper34, Dine89, FoxPhile, messermonroeforever125, Christina5139, uscrocks, Lindsay1234, Jennifer32485, Lozza100, iheartcsinewyork, afrozenheart412, 18lzytwner, rapidtetv, saderia, blyelilyrose and dannyandlindsayhot.

* * *

**Band-Aid – Pixie Lott**

_There something 'bout you, that's like the sun. You warm up my heart, when I come undone. You're like my soul mate and on those days, when I hurt, when I break - you are my band aid._

_

* * *

_

"You sure about this?"

Peering up at him through her lashes, she giggled. "It's a bit late for that now."

"We can back out though; we don't have to... you know..." He paused as he observed their current company. "You know, they might not even notice us gone."

Rolling her eyes, Lindsay laced her fingers through Danny's before snuggling into his side. "I want to stay."

"What if I don't?"

"Then I'd say tough luck, you have no choice."

"Who made you the boss, apple sauce?" Danny teased her with a glint in his eye. "C'mon, I know I said it might have been nice but I've changed my mind. Let's go."

Giggling, she shook her head. "Look, you insisted."

"I know, but -..."

"You insisted." She repeated with a look in her eyes that told him not to disagree with her again.

"Didn't you need to pack?" he gently reminded her, trying to approach the subject a different way.

"I'll get my husband to shove some clothes in a suitcase when I get home."

"They'll be creased."

"Don't worry about it, it'll give my mother great pleasure - schooling me in how to iron..." Lindsay giggled. "It'll kill at least one afternoon, right?"

"You're my wife though. Why do I have to share you?"

"Wife." A huge smile tugged at Lindsay's lips. "It has a nice ring to it, don't you think?"

"Yeah, well... You're mine and I don't see why I have to share right now."

"Because I'm going away tomorrow, and everyone is happy for us."

"Well, we accept personal cheques." Danny smirked. "If they're that happy, they can shove their happiness in our mailbox and be on their merry way while I get to spend the last few hours with my wife before she heads off to Montana."

"Hey, you picked the date, Mr."

"Excuse me, lovebirds?" A thick New York accent sounded. "You mind? We're all sat here twiddlin' our damn thumbs, and no offense, but Jess and I had plans tonight. You two just had to wreck said plans and get married, didn't you? No thought for others. Rude is what it is. Plain rude."

Lindsay buried her head into Danny's chest in embarrassment at getting so lost in their own personal conversation.

"Flack, ease up, pal." Danny barked playfully. "I'm discussin' somethin' very important with my wife here."

"Like how much you love her?" Hawkes chimed in.

"Or how you can't live without her?" Adam added.

"Fuck the lot of you." He growled. "This was her idea."

"No it wasn't." She muttered into his chest.

"Shhh babe." He mouthed down to her with a smirk on his face before turning his attention to the rest of the table. "I could have easily waited to tell you bunch of clowns on our first wedding anniversary."

"They may have caught on with the rings, Danny. They are quite the observant bunch." Mac teased. "At least that's what I pay them for."

"I think you're giving them a little too much credit there, Mac." Danny chuckled as he pressed a kiss to Lindsay's temple before wrapping his arm around her shoulder. "Don't you think, Mrs. Messer?"

Biting her lip, Lindsay fought the smile on her face.

"Look at that," Flack smirked. "She can barely contain herself over there. He got you under some spell, Monroe?"

"Her name is Messer." Danny growled. "Lindsay Messer."

"She'll always be Monroe to me." Flack smirked. "It twists your panties in a way that just brings this insane amount of pleasure to me, Messer."

"Don!" a chorus around the table chided him.

Holding his hands up in mock defence, Flack sighed. "Guys, come on... Danny Messer just got married. Let me have this time to tease his ass one last time... As his best friend I surely deserve this. I was on my best behaviour when he told me he was Lindsay's baby daddy."

"Baby daddy?" Angell smirked with a raised eyebrow. "Someone is spending too much time with their CI."

"He has a point." Stella smiled from her spot at the end of the table, next to Mac, whom for the majority of the free-flowing conversation thus far had stayed relatively quiet. "I didn't think we'd see this day up until a year ago or so."

"I saw it from the second they met." Mac smiled proudly, arms crossed over his chest. "I called this from day one."

"You did not." Stella laughed. "I refuse to believe that."

"I saw the sparkle in their eyes. Especially Danny's..." Mac continued to defend his cause. "It was just a matter of when they got married. Not if."

The newlyweds maintained their silence as they watched their friends discuss and banter their relationship and how it had progressed over the years. The downtime in not being a part of the conversation provided them both with a few moments to just collect themselves and take a breath. It had been a whirlwind of an afternoon for them. After finishing up in the Clerk's office, Stella had suggested a quiet celebratory dinner somewhere. Quiet though, had turned into the entire team surprising them at their regular celebratory establishment. It was just a small Italian restaurant, but it was their 'go-to' when something required celebrating; and _this_ definitely required celebrating.

"Speech from bride," Flack demanded randomly to the group, bringing both Danny and Lindsay from their thoughts.

"Don!" Lindsay blushed, hoping that someone would take pity on her and insist that it wasn't necessary.

"What?" Flack shrugged. "I'm sick'a hearin' Messer cry about his heartache about how much he adores you, Linds. Let's hear it from the other side. Someone needs to make a speech. It's a wedding reception, granted it's the worlds' smallest, but it's a reception nonetheless..."

Danny turned in his seat slightly. He licked his lips and raised his eyebrows, almost as if he was propositioning her to take up Flack's request.

"You just want an ego boost." Lindsay sighed as she took her glass of water and began to take a sip as she contemplated taking Flack up on his request for her to gush about her new husband. She took the time to look at every face patiently staring at her.

"Oh why not?" She giggled as she shifted in her chair. "But you can think again if you guys want me to stand up."

"I demand you stay seated." Stella grinned from her own chair. "The amount you two have been through, we might be here a while."

"Enough of that." Danny warned light-heartedly. "Our past made us who we are, right Linds?"

"Exactly." She giggled before shifting in her chair slightly. "So. Speech. Hmm. I don't exactly know where to begin."

"The beginning?" Adam laughed before sinking in his chair at the seven pairs of eyes shifting to him. "It's just... usually a... good place to start, you know?"

Taking a deep breath as she prepared herself, she thought of a few things she wanted to say.

"Well, if we're starting from the beginning then I first met him, I didn't really like him."

"Now this is a speech!" Flack exclaimed, kicking back in his seat with a smirk on his face.

"Jerk." Danny muttered before turning to his wife. "You better be going somewhere with this, babe."

"I am." She grinned. "Danny made anything but a good impression on me. We didn't agree on much. In fact," she paused and smiled in the memory of their relationship when she first joined the crime lab. "We rarely agreed on anything. We were always trying to get one over on the other. To this day we challenge each other every day on so many levels." She turned her gaze to her husband. "But in spite of our differences that we've faced... be it him being immature when we first met, or to other more significant things..." she continued deliberately being coy about issues she wished not to go into, "we have one important thing in common. We're crazy about each other, and I wouldn't have him any other way. He's my soul-mate. He's the one person that was stubborn and cared enough to push through all of my insecurities to get to the person he knew I was And for that, I'll always love him."

"Lindsay, that's so sweet." Adam gushed.

"He wasn't always like that." Flack said with folded arms. "I don't buy that crap, Monroe. You're letting the power of the ring go to your brain. There's more history to you guys than that. I'm expecting a long drawn out speech here and I ain't stoppin' till I get it... so try again."

Narrowing her eyes playfully, Lindsay sighed. "I wasn't prepared to make an epic speech."

"We all know you're quite the actress, Lindsay." Stella chuckled. "And I'm sure there's _something_ you can say."

Sighing, she raked her fingers through her hair, the embarrassment of having her co-workers so intent on listening to her making her cheeks burn pink.

"Guys c'mon, leave her alone." Danny stepped in, seeing Lindsay's hesitance and discomfort. "She's leavin' tomorrow and it's been a long day for her, alright?"

"Well, if she isn't up to it..." Flack trailed off. "Never thought I'd see the day Lindsay Monroe gave up on something."

"It's Messer actually, and I'm not giving up. It's just a little speech." She cleared her throat and steeled herself as she continued on, determined not to let Flack win, despite how uncomfortable she was in sharing her's and Danny's private life. "As I was saying... with Danny there was always something about him that pulled me to him. Like there was something I didn't know, but felt like I needed to..."

"I can tell you that; he loved you." Hawkes smirked.

"And that's enough from you, buddy." Danny snapped, still feeling defensive but also curious as to where Lindsay was taking this speech of hers; especially after being pulled up by Flack for trying to bring it to a close relatively quickly.

"So, this being said..." she began with a small smile on her face, slowly gaining confidence in speaking out to their co-workers about their relationship. "The inkling of something else I could feel underneath the surface gave me the ammunition to figure him out... whether he was the guy I thought he was."

"And was he?" Angell pressed, as she used her hands and elbow to support her chin as she leant on the table.

"No." Lindsay shook her head at her friend before turning to face Danny. "He was so much more. Just when I figured I knew him, he proved me wrong and showed me that there was another side to him that even I hadn't seen."

"I did?" Danny chuckled, a little disbelieving in Lindsay's view of him.

She smiled. "Flight 2647 from Newark, connecting in Denver says so."

"You remember the Flight number?" He inquired. "Wait... did I even tell you the flight number?"

"I still have the ticket stub." She admitted. "Granted it's a little worn now but..."

"Hello... seven clueless people sat here." Flack piped in. "Wanna get explainin'?"

Danny and Lindsay glanced at each other before Danny took the opportunity to explain. "Those few days back in '07 when I disappeared to recuperate after working myself into the ground? I kind of went to Montana to support Lindsay."

"I knew it." Flack declared as he slammed his hand down on the table in excitement. "I knew you'd gone running after her. I just knew it."

"Well Linds needed me, and don't for one second tell me you wouldn't do it for Jess over there." Danny smirked with a raised eyebrow.

Flack heard the chairs scraping against the wooden floor as everyone faced him, awaiting his answer.

"But... that's me. I never... I'm not... So Messer got married?" He cleared his throat as he offered Angell a bashful smile to which she returned with a grin.

"Carry on Lindsay," Mac smiled. "I'm quite enjoying hearing all of this from the other side."

Sitting back in her chair for a moment, Lindsay cocked her eyebrow. "You've heard a side of this already?" she addressed Mac before then glancing to Danny. "He's heard a side of this?"

"I had to talk to someone." Danny squirmed in his seat a little as he felt the watchful gaze from the patrons of the table. "Mac was someone that knew us but would offer impartial advice too."

Making his presence known once again, Flack smirked. "Basically he was gushing to-..."

"We'll have none of that, thank you." Lindsay glared before turning to face Danny directly. "I don't know how or when it happened but I fell in love with you, head over heels - always and forever – regardless of what happens, love. And even when you made it really hard to love you, it was one of the easiest things I've ever done. I don't know what it is about you... I just, I tried to let you go, and ended up falling for you even more..."

He pulled her towards him and pressed a kiss to her temple, giving him a chance to whisper: "Did I mention how glad I am you didn't let go of me?" privately.

She smiled and nodded shyly.

"We're all hanging on tenterhooks here, kiddo." Stella smiled. "Don't leave us hanging."

"He asked me to take a leap today and trust in him, and I did. And I'm so glad I did."

She paused to take a breath, and smiled to herself when there was silence at the table - which was a rare occurrence.

"When I hurt," She continued. "He's my band-aid and fixes everything. When I'm upset, he's there to wipe my tears. When I'm the happiest I've ever been, he's there, smiling along with me. And I'm glad that he's going to be there for the rest of my life... and if any of you tease him for this, you'll have me to answer to."

"To Danny and Lindsay." Mac chimed at the end of the table with his glass raised in the air, sensing the end to Lindsay's speech.

"To Danny and Lindsay."

Offering her a warm smile Danny leant towards her and cupped her cheeks with his hands. He pulled her close to him and softly kissed her; almost like he was thanking her for everything she had said about him. Things that he'd never heard before.

Despite their teasing beforehand, the patrons of the table stayed silent as Danny and Lindsay shared a moment between them; having a silent conversation with their eyes, him thanking her for everything she had said, and her thanking him for nudging her to take that leap.

"Ahem." Adam cleared nervously, unable to handle the silence any longer.

"Now if I could say a few words..." Flack began.

"NO!" The table cried together before bursting into fits of laughter.

It might not have originally been the way in which Danny had wanted to spend his wedding night with Lindsay – but it was only six o'clock. He had plenty of time before she headed to Montana.

And he intended to use every single second to make the most of their time left together perfect.

* * *

**Ta-da. I hope it wasn't as cheesy as I kind of think it is. I know how sometimes it can get testing reading things from Danny's POV and I wanted to make sure I didn't leave our girl out. She has thoughts too! haha. So there we have it. Chapter... 293945868? A little bit of me has lost count now, considering I had no clue how long this was going to be - safe to say it's going to be quite the epic little thing. haha. **

**Thanks for reading, I do hope you enjoyed - and any thoughts and bits of feedback are hugely appreciated. **


	45. Come Back To Me

**A/N: Alright, we're doing a little time travelling here. And it's not exactly canon either... but well I'm going to go with it anyway. And you know what. That's all I'm going to say for once. **

**Oh wait. This chapter's M rated. **

_**Now**_** that's all I'm saying. **

**Thank you to those of you who read, and also those of you who reviewed last chapter. I can always rely on you guys to reassure me on things. I'm glad you all liked last chapter and it wasn't as cheesy as I felt it was. Special mentions to: **dl-shipper34, ZoeyBug, gabriellabolton, Dine89, Lindsay1234, Christina5139, Megan, unlikelyRLshipper, messermonroeforever125, rapidtetv, afrozenheart412, 18lzytwner, brendanakai, bluelilyrose and prplerayne

* * *

**Set through 3x18 (Slight Out Of Hand) and 5x17 (Green Piece)**

* * *

**Come Back To Me – David Cook**

_When you find you, come back to me._

_

* * *

_

Danny Messer glanced down to the petite hand that was gripping his over the console of his rental car and as he did, a small smile tugged at his lips. Actually no, scratch small smile; a huge massive grin was plastered across his face. It had turned out that his instincts were right and had paid off. Lindsay had needed him. She'd needed him one hell of a lot.

He let out a breath as he followed the GPS, telling him to take a left turn. "You're quiet." He nudged her into some form of conversation. "Surely you should be sharing some random trivia about now..."

"I'm just thinking."

"That's never good..." Danny smirked. "Do I need to pull over?"

"No, smartass." She chuckled as she squeezed his hand and dug her nails into his palm. "It's not every day that you give a testimony that puts someone behind bars for the rest of their life."

"You do it pretty much every other day, babe."

She blushed a little at his seemingly new pet name for her, but despite the smile her tone was serious. "Putting away someone who has haunted me for the past decade isn't something I usually do everyday Danny."

"Oh." He let out a breath. "I just, I'm so happy to see you, I guess I keep forgettin' what it is you've been goin'... it's been a long few days I guess. I'm sorry, Linds."

"It's okay..."

"No it isn't. I shouldn't have... I should be a little more sympathetic towards you and what you've been goin' through. What the fuck am I doin', crackin' jokes... It's the last thing you need right now."

She squeezed his hand with the one, and with her other, she placed her index finger to his lips. "Cracking jokes is exactly what I need right now."

"Hardly." He huffed at her, annoyed at his actions.

"Danny, do you realise that if you hadn't have come I wouldn't have been able to find myself in time to turn the testimony around?"

"Huh?" Danny pressed as they cruised down the open road comfortably. "I don't really understand."

"I was really struggling in the time before you came in. Like the room was closing in on me and I couldn't breathe, but the second you walked in, it felt like I could breathe properly again. I'm just... I didn't realise how much I missed you until you walked in. So you can crack jokes all you want because of you... I just got closure to a big part of me that's left me with a sinking feeling for my whole life, you can do whatever you want and I wouldn't care."

"You missed me?" Danny smirked, disregarding everything else she'd just said.

"Yeah." She admitted. "I missed you a lot."

"Good." He smiled shyly, "because I missed you too."

"And I also didn't realise how much I've become to need you over the past year or so. I really don't know what I would do without you."

Danny tried to suppress the joy within him. He'd wanted to be there for her so bad over the past few months, but didn't know how he could do that. It seemed now that he had found his answer; he just had to be himself and be there when she needed him.

"Well," he began, realising he'd not really said much after she was sharing so much with him. "I told you I'd be there for you when you needed me."

"Actually I believe it was; if you need anything from me, just let me know, okay?"

"Memorised it did you?"

"Something like that." She giggled.

They fell into silence, simply basking in the comfort of holding the other's hand and the small sounds of the radio keeping the silence comfortable.

"_In one hundred yards, you have reached your destination." _

Looking up, Danny blinked as he tried to force his eyes to register on the building that stared back at him. "This is your folks' house? Lindsay... I pictured him as this greying Ranch owner with six sons and an only daughter who he protects with every fibre of his being... And your mother... I imagined an older version of you... I... I'm so confused."

"I went home to see them the week before the trial," she began with a smile at Danny's confusion. "But then I booked myself into a hotel during the proceedings. I wouldn't even let them meet me there to support me through the testimony." Upon Danny's puzzled look, she took a deep breath before continuing. "I knew I would be a wreck and I didn't want them to see that... again."

"Again? You mean what you went through everything that happened?"

She nodded. "You were right though... My dad is an old greying ranch owner... But he has two sons and two daughters, sorry."

"Don't apologise." He smirked. "Two little cowboys I can handle... six and I have no chance. And a sister, eh? Never in my little day-dreams did I imagine you with a sister. Are you the youngest?"

"Yeah... why?"

"Do they have a ridiculous nick name for you... like Linny or something?"

"No they call me Montana." She cocked her head a little, a smirk tugging at her lips.

"What?"

"Psych." She giggled. "No, all I get is Linds..."

"I don't believe that for a second."

Lindsay giggled as she unbuckled her seat belt and grabbed her purse. "I can't believe you thought my parents owned a Holiday Inn. Dork."

Danny jumped at the slamming of the car door. He ripped the key from the ignition and jumped from the front seat so he could defend himself.

"Hey, how was I supposed to know?" It was a pathetic defence. "You could have been multi millionaires... it'd be a perfect way to explain your apartment."

"My apartment?" Lindsay snorted as she watched him gather his carry-on bag from the back seat. "What's wrong with my apartment?"

"Nothing... and that's my point. It's a perfect little apartment in the middle of Manhattan... You have to be a millionaire to be able to maintain one of those... and I know for a fact your salary wouldn't cover it."

"That's where you're wrong." She grinned. "I don't spend bucket loads on nights out and pool tables, and Harley Davidsons."

"Or food apparently..."

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?"

"... not how it sounded." He cringed. "I just meant... I'm not saying you're thin because you don't eat. I know you eat, I... I just was kidding that you must not buy food to keep that apartment. It was a really, _really_ bad joke that I wish I could take back."

Her features softened and sighed as she leant against the rental car. "You must regret it; you sound like Adam." With that she pushed off the car and smiled a little as she made her way towards the hotel lobby.

"Adam? I don't ever sound like Adam." Watching as she continued to head off towards the hotel, he sighed as he locked the rental car and flung his carry on over his shoulder. "Montana! Wait up!"

She stopped and turned as she stood in the entrance, tapping her foot against the sidewalk. "Today would be nice."

"I asked you to wait." He puffed as he slung his bag over his shoulder and retook her hand; making a smile break out across her face at the gesture.

"You were acting like a kid." She huffed. "I got bored."

"I see you've been living the life of luxury then?" Danny teased, gently changing the subject as they passed through the exquisite lobby – considering it was just a Holiday Inn, it was something special. "Didn't fancy checking yourself into the local motel?"

"I wanted somewhere where people didn't give a crap that I was Lindsay Monroe... back in Montana for the trial. John and Delia's B&B would have little Jimmy camping out my room, waiting for a heart-wrenching sob." She glanced to the front desk and wiggled her fingers in acknowledgement of the attractive man enthusiastically waving at her. "Edwardo here, doesn't care. And most people that work here aren't from Montana anyway, so Miss Monroe is just another happy customer."

"They're not...?" He glared at a still waving Edwardo. "I figured everyone here is from here..."

"I love this little view of Bozeman you seem to have... it's so..." she pressed the elevator button and paused to try and find the right words. "New York. No, not everyone currently residing in Montana is from Montana; just like how everyone in New York isn't from New York."

"New York is a _little _different, Lindsay."

"Whatever." She giggled as she tugged him into the elevator.

* * *

"Do you blame me though?" Danny laughed as he waited for Lindsay to unlock the hotel room door. "You're the girl that brought a killer knife to work on her first day, remember. I don't think anything else screams country girl more than that."

"It was to warn the morons off like you." She grinned as she finally managed to open the door after a few attempts of swiping the key card.

"It didn't work." He smirked, not missing a beat.

"Apparently."

Lindsay merely rolled her eyes as she dropped her purse on a chair and let herself fall back on the Queen sized bed, a wave of relief and freedom washing over her as she did so.

"After everything we've been through now, do you wish it had?" He questioned as he tentatively put his bag down on the desk in the room.

"Wish it had what?" Lindsay asked as she kicked off her shoes and stretched out on the bed.

"Warned me off?"

She thought about it for a moment before shaking her head and smiling softly as he met her gaze from where he stood next to the bed. "I'm glad it didn't."

"Really?"

She nodded. "Because if it had, I wouldn't have the best friend I've ever had..."

"I'm your best friend?" Danny inquired with a smile on his face.

"Well, yeah." She blushed. "I know, it's stupid. I sound like a fourteen year old girl."

"What do they say? A friend calls you on the phone to see if you're okay, a best friend catches a red eye from New York to Montana, to offer their friend a bit of support."

"They say that?" Lindsay snorted.

"Well, they should."

"You're just humouring me." She sighed as she turned over and hid her face in the pillows of the bed.

Smiling at her antics Danny toed his shoes off and laid next to her on the bed. The dip in the mattress was enough to turn her attention to him and she looked up at him through her eyelashes. "You think I'm stupid."

"I don't think you're stupid. I've just... I thought that somewhere along the way you would have lost the interest you once had in us being something other than partners. It's been a long time since... you know, all of this started. I thought with the stress." Realising he was going around in a circle, he stopped himself and smiled. "Best friends works for me."

She blushed once again. "Well, I'm not saying you're just my best friend, you're a lot more than that too."

"I am?"

"Danny, you just... what you did today... it just made me..." She sighed. "I don't know where I'm going with this."

Danny chuckled as he stretched his arm above her head, letting her snuggle into his side. "I'm so glad to see you like this, Linds." He whispered into her temple as he pressed a kiss to the area. "I'm so glad to see you happy."

"It hasn't sunk in." She replied. "It hasn't hit me yet; give me a little while and I'll probably be sobbing... it's been like a rollercoaster."

Danny nodded. "Well, I'm here now. For the ups and downs."

Falling into silence, Lindsay simply laid her head on Danny's chest and let out a sigh. "I'm so glad you're here."

"Me too." He whispered. "Now wiggle, I need to go get a shower before we get comfortable here. I stink."

"I know." She giggled. "I didn't want to say anything."

"Smartass... move."

Complying, Lindsay rolled over on the bed and watched as he dragged himself out of bed and yawned.

"Tired?"

"You have no idea." He snorted.

"Didn't you sleep on the plane?"

"Oh, I slept on the plane. It was the forty-eight hours I hadn't slept before that that's doing this now."

"Forty eight hours?" Lindsay gasped. "Danny, what was going on... why the hell have you left if there's a huge case?"

"There's no big case... well one that needs my attention at least. It was just me torturing myself." He blushed.

Lindsay cocked her head to the side in confusion. "Huh?"

"I figured it was easier pulling a trouble than closing my eyes at my apartment and picturing you."

"Trouble?"

"I meant double."

"I figured." She smiled before her face dropped once again. "Danny that's not healthy. Forty eight hours and no sleep; what were you thinking?"

"I wasn't?"

"You must have been a walking zombie."

"I was... I saw you walk down the hallway."

Lindsay raised her brow. "You saw me do what?"

"Walk down the hallway."

"But I wasn't there."

"Exactly... it was actually that slutty lab tech you hate."

"Sienna? Ugh."

"Yeah," Danny smirked at the distaste Lindsay had said the name with. "Her. When I hallucinated, I knew something wasn't quite right."

"No kidding." She shook her head. "I'm mad that you did that to yourself."

"If I hadn't, I probably wouldn't have thought to come here now.

"I don't care; you shouldn't have done that to yourself."

"Well, there are things I don't think you should have done to yourself, but I don't say anything."

"What do you mean by that?"

"How you beat yourself up about how you pushed me away."

"I don't..."

Danny merely held her gaze to which she looked away from.

"You do. It wasn't your fault; I just wish you understood that. I do, so why can't you?"

"Danny, I was horrible." She began. "Look at how I treated you. I gave you all, and then tore it away and gave you nothing, and that wasn't fair of me to do that."

"Well, I know why you were doing it, and you didn't push me away because you wanted to. I could tell it was one of the hardest things you've had to do."

"You could?"

He nodded. "Every time you looked in my eyes I could tell that it was a front."

"You couldn't." She defended her ability to hide her emotions. "I'm not that see through."

"To everyone else maybe; not to me though Lindsay, that glassy look in your eyes... you'd never had that before, and you forget that I know the real you."

"How did you know that wasn't the fake me? That it wasn't a front I had put on?"

"Because." He smirked as he leant down and looked at her on the bed. "You were just waiting to find yourself... you knew the person you were, you just needed to be free enough to be that person without something weighing you down."

"You've had a lot of time to think." She observed as she shuffled on her position on the bed. "I'm surprised."

"It happens occasionally." He smirked.

Giggling as she sat up, she took a deep breath before taking hold of the lapels of Danny's leather jacket, tugging him towards her until his knees buckled, sending him toppling on top of her.

"What was that for?" he whispered. "I'm getting in the shower. Stop goofin' off, Montana."

She replied through the form of a kiss, which effectively rendered him speechless.

It took him a moment or two, but he was soon reciprocating the kiss. He shifted in his position and moved in time to her as she moved further onto the bed, drawing him into the kiss as her arms snaked around his neck.

Her lips were so soft. And the kiss wasn't desperate like he had initially thought when her lips touched his; it was in a word – perfect.

He had kissed Lindsay three times before. Once when Flack was in the hospital after his insides were blown to pieces, once when she had shown up at his doorstep at three am, drunk as anything, and the final time when he had stepped in and "protected" her from a perfectly handsome guy that was coming onto her in a bar.

But those times had been different. There hadn't been the same feeling; a promise that things would be okay between them from now on.

His heart was racing as the kiss progressed from a kiss into something more. This wasn't what he wanted, but in the same respect, God it was. He'd wanted to be with her, in this type of situation, for months upon months. He'd missed her in more ways than he ever thought were possible. And while he had wanted to kiss her in the courtroom, their drive had given him the time to talk himself out of continuing where they had left off. It was inappropriate when he took into account what she'd been through. She was healing, and she didn't him to make her feel better in _that_ way.

Clearly she had disagreed though. They _were_ going to kiss.

He pulled away suddenly with his chest heaving, and as his eyes scanned her face while he pinned her to the bed. He was overly conscious of what she had said earlier - that it hadn't sunk it yet, and she'd probably break down soon enough – and while he'd be there to hold her while she cried, he didn't want to be in the middle of their first actual, proper kiss when that happened. In all honesty he didn't want to break her down; period. But that was him being selfish. He knew that there was only so much she could take before it hit her like a tonne of bricks. He'd been there before and seen the pain she went through.

"We can't do this." He finally whispered.

"What's the matter?" she asked, stunned and a little dazed from their kiss. "Why can't we?"

"This isn't why I came." He lamely insisted. "This wasn't part of the reason."

"And? So what... Make it a part of your reason."

"And I don't want you thinkin' that I-"

"Sshhh." She whispered, holding a finger to his lips. "Just, shhh."

"Lindsay!" he protested. "Look, I really don't think that this is the wisest of moves on our parts."

"Danny, stop worrying."

"Lindsay! Listen to me here, okay? You've gone through this huge ordeal... I don't want to be a regret of yours in twenty minutes."

Lindsay raised an eyebrow.

"Alright, forty-five," He shrugged with a smirk. "Give or take."

She sat up and shrugged him off of her, sending a bolt of devastation through his heart at the look in her eyes.

"You... you think I'd regret you?" Her small voice sounded. "W-w-why?"

Danny exhaled as he took a seat next to her. "I don't want to be a mistake, Linds. I don't want you to think you have to... with me."

"Danny, the only thing I regret is not letting you be there for me sooner."

Danny furrowed his brow, still unconvinced. "I don't want to rush into this." Upon seeing her face dip down to face the bed, he reached across the small distance between them and tucked his finger under her chin and made her look at him. "Linds..."

"We've been dancing around this for the past year and a half, Danny. We're not rushing into anything."

"Lindsay, we barely talked for six months."

"I know that." She snapped. "I know!"

"And that's why I want to wait." He mentally shook his head. He didn't want to wait. He was just hoping and praying she appreciated him acting like the gentleman he was trying to be, because the strain in his jeans was becoming agonizing.

"I'm done with waiting. I waited my entire adult life to send him to prison, Danny. I made myself wait to fall for you. I made myself wait to let you in. I'm done with waiting for us. I want us, Danny."

"And I want us too, Linds." He assured her. "I do. But I don't feel we're in the place where we can connect like this; like the way we want to be able to connect."

"In Montana?... what's wrong with having sex in Montana?"

"Not Montana..."

"The hotel room?"

"Mentally and emotionally... Jesus, c'mon Montana; help me out here!"

"Well." She licked her lips and glanced south. "I'd say we're physically in a place to connect like this. Especially you."

Danny groaned. The one time he had tried to have self control - his partner had let him down... well, he hadn't helped in hiding his attraction and arousal for her. Down probably wasn't the correct phrasing he figured. "Linds, I just think that it'd be better if..."

"Look, if you don't want to..." Her eyes went wide. "Oh God, that's it, isn't it? You're not that into me like that." Lindsay's cheeks burned red. "Fuck. I'm such an idiot."

"Lindsay..."

"I completely... I just figured because you'd... and... I was completely wrong. What an absolute..."

"Lindsay, I just told you I want to be with you. I want to be in a relationship with you."

"I'm sorry," She continued, either not hearing or ignoring what he had just said. "I can't believe I did that. Here you are coming here to comfort me when I really need you emotionally and I just... Oh God, I'm so emba-"

She couldn't finish her stream of regret. Something within Danny had finally snapped. The ounce of self control he'd had left perhaps? Hearing her panic at the thought of him not being that way into her when he clearly was, sent him into his own little panic... She was far from the truth. So, so far from the truth. He wanted her _that_ much he didn't want to wreck his chance with her and was being overly cautious.

Tugging her shirt over her head and tossing it behind him, Danny used the opportunity to break his lips from her's and grab the moment to calm her racing heart a little.

"The only reason I'm not tangled in these sheets with you already is because I respect you too much to do that. I really care for you Lindsay."

She blinked at him, her features softening at his admission.

"When I say I don't want to be a regret, I don't mean it in the way you think. I don't even know if I mean regret in the first place. I don't want today to be overlooked by the first time we slept together, and I don't want the emotions you're feeling to be misinterpreted because of how horrible it's been for you. I want to be here for you Lindsay – God knows I do, I just... I don't know how to say what I want to say."

"You basically don't want me to use you for sex to feel something." Lindsay deadpanned.

"No, not that. Well maybe it is that..." He shook his head. "No. I don't mean that. I just... I want it to be perfect Lindsay, and I don't want you to think that this is going to be a one-time thing because it isn't for me."

"I need-"

Danny pressed his finger to her lips. "Don't, Lindsay. I'm really tryin' here."

"Danny, I need you." Her voice had dropped an octave as she hooked her fingers in Danny's oxford shirt, allowing her to bring him closer to her. "I need to feel you. I want... I want you. I want our friendship back. I want to be everything we know that we can be, or I at least want to try. I'm not broken. I'm not this delicate little thing that will shatter emotionally at any moment. You don't have to worry about me Danny, I'm a big girl and I know where to draw the line. If I was in anyway unsure, I wouldn't be... well, you know."

Danny took a second to breathe and assess the situation. On one hand, he wanted be able to show Lindsay how much respect he had for her and continue to resist the feelings boiling up inside of him. On the other though, he would finally be able to connect with Lindsay in the way he had dared to not even dream about.

It took a mere second to make his decision. He grabbed the hem and flung his t-shirt over his head as licked his lips. He crawled over to her and positioned himself so that he was hovering over her. "If at any point you don't feel comfortable, I want you to tell me."

She nodded, waiting for him to make a move.

And she didn't have to wait long. Within mere seconds of her nodding in promise, he had fused his lips to her neck, making her melt with the way he pressed the open mouth kisses to the area. It was like he knew she was sensitive there. The way he kissed her made her feel like they'd done this a million times. As she wrapped her fingertips around his strong arms, she realised that she was finally in the place she wanted to be: with him.

"Linds," he whispered into her neck, sending shivers down her spine, "Swear to me you're not goin' to change your mind, because I don't think I could handle it."

"I promise," she swore as she arched herself into him, pressing her chest into his. "I want this."

"Good." He growled as he snaked his arms behind her and unclipped her bra, flinging it behind him randomly. Feeling a little exposed, Lindsay's fingers went to the hem of Danny's wife-beater and tugged it over his head desperately.

Her eyes glazed over as she absorbed his body. He was a perfectly sculptured masterpiece; each muscle defined like she'd never seen before.

"See somethin' you like?" He smirked.

"Yeah, I see six of them." She returned his smirk as she referred to his defined abs. She linked her fingers around his neck which allowed her to lower his body to her on the bed.

Like he had before, he buried his head in the nape of her neck, pressing kisses to the area that had gained him gasps and moans from her previously. Squirming underneath him, Lindsay hooked her legs around him; effectively bringing his hips down to meet hers.

"I thought we weren't in the place to be doing this." She gestured to their current states.

"I was completely bullshitting." He rasped against her neck. "If you had said I was right I would have gone outside and found myself a bear and given him a gun or something."

Giggling, Lindsay's fingertips ran down his toned stomach and abdomen and settled on the waistband of his jeans. He moved his face away from her neck just in time to see her swallow in contemplation as she prepared herself to make such a bold move. Within seconds, she'd found herself and flicked the button open with her thumb and forefinger; exposing the waistband of his boxers. He helped her as they together pushed the garment down his legs and onto the floor.

"God, I want you." He whispered, as he focused his attention on her shoulder before making his way back to the sensitive spot on her neck. "This is your last chance to tell me to slow down, Linds."

She wordlessly shook her head, once again arching herself into him.

He licked his lips as sat up so that he was effectively straddling her hips. Shivering at the loss of heat from his body Lindsay blinked at him, chest heaving, as she tried to comprehend why he'd moved away so suddenly. To answer the questions in her eyes silently, his fingers slid down her stomach and settled on button of her jeans. Mimicking Lindsay's previous actions, he too flicked the button undone, but took his time in peeling the jeans from her slender legs. As he pushed them down her body, he made sure his fingertips grazed her skin torturously; sending shivers down her spine.

It was like they needed the time to prepare themselves from friends to that something else. There would be times where clothes would be physically ripped from their bodies; and some probably wouldn't even make it off... but right now, it seemed like a common strand between the two that they wanted to take their time. Explore the other. Make up for lost time almost.

He wasn't good with words; but actions... Actions he was good with and although he refused to admit it to himself, he knew deep down that he was trying to make Lindsay feel better. He wanted her to feel alive after feeling nothing but devastation and loss for so long.

As his eyes soaked in Lindsay's body, he realised he had no other items of clothing to remove, and although his heart had been racing before; it increased tenfold as he realised that this was it.

No turning back.

Lowering himself to her waiting body he inhaled deeply, preparing himself for the event he'd waited for, for months.

Arching off her pillow, Lindsay captured Danny's lips in a kiss that sealed their fate; neither of them wanted to turn back.

"Wait!" She let out a whimper as he positioned himself at her centre. "I'm not... on anything."

"Well that's good; you'd fail your drug test if you were." He replied, trying to control his breathing and racing heart before he exploded with anticipation.

"Not that... I mean birth control." She said through gritted teeth as her cheeks burned pink.

"Ohh." Danny swallowed as his eyes absorbed her underneath him and withdrew from her a little. "Fuck. I forgot about that... Do you...?"

"No... Do you?"

"Will you judge me if I say yes?" Danny smirked.

"I'll give you brownie points for being a good boy scout."

"I'll take it." He smiled as he pressed a kiss to her forehead. "Can you reach...?" He gestured to his wallet sat on the bedside table.

Lindsay stretched her arm out to the side of the bed and managed to grab his wallet and flipped it open, looking inside for the condom. Her fingers dipped in to the wallet, filtering through the receipts, plane ticket stub, cash and... a picture. She swallowed as she pulled the photograph out, forgetting the condom that sat right beside it. She dropped the wallet to the bed as her eyes soaked in the image that stared back at her.

She didn't know how, where or when he'd acquired it, but she remembered the afternoon clearly. The team had gone to a charity softball game on a summer day just a few months after she'd joined the crime lab. After playing a few games, both Danny and Lindsay had declared themselves exhausted and had adopted one of the many picnic blankets as their own. He'd sat down, using his arms to prop himself up but she had lain on his thigh, staring up at him. It had been her way of playfully flirting with him and bridging their relationship from co-workers to... friends, something more perhaps? At the time she hadn't been sure... But that was the image that stared up at her. Their smiling, care-free faces in the candid shot.

"Linds..." he nudged her out of her moment from the past. "Everythin' okay? I'm kinda... well hangin' here..."

Running her fingertips over the photograph and their smiling faces she bit her lip and nodded. "Everything's fine."

Obviously knowing what she was looking at, Danny let out a puff of air as his arms supported the best part of his weight while he hovered above her. "Look, if you don't-..."

She dropped the photograph to the bed and used her free hand to hold a finger to his lips. She then silently moved her attention back to the disregarded wallet and pinched the strategically hidden condom out.

"This hasn't been in there since you were twelve has it?" She sniggered as she ripped open the packet.

"No, purchased this afternoon actually, smartass."

She raised an eyebrow at him as she pulled it from the pack. "Thinking of getting lucky was you?"

"I like to think taking a precaution. I didn't want to find myself in this situation and be poorly equipped."

"I'd say you're far from that Detective Messer." She smirked as she tossed the foil to the floor and rolled the condom over him.

He drew in a sharp intake of breath at the feel of her wrapped around his cock as she surrounded him in the protective sheath. He'd imagined this scenario hundreds of times; usually at night... but he'd never given her enough credit.

He'd never thought that _that _would feel _this _good.

"Everything okay?" She whispered as she pressed a lingering kiss to his jaw-line.

Positioning himself at her slick opening he swallowed as his eyes set on her's. "Jus' tryin' really hard not to lose control right now..."

In response she hooked her legs around him and drew the head of his cock into her, eliciting a unanimous gasp between them. He followed her lead and thrust into her, connecting them completely as he buried himself deep inside of her.

He watched as she sunk her teeth into her lip, in what he hoped was a fit of ecstasy. He closed his eyes as he felt her mould herself to him, and tried not to cry out himself at the sensation.

Sex had never really been sex before – well, it had been; and it had been great sex... at least until he'd met Lindsay. Obviously he hadn't known it, but no one compared to the way she felt around him.

"Please" She whispered, giving him the signal that she was ready. "Please, Danny."

Withdrawing from her at an excruciatingly slow pace, Danny watched as Lindsay's eyes clamped shut as she continued to bite down on her lip to prevent any sounds coming from her.

At least, that's what he hoped.

"You okay, babe?"

She nodded wordlessly as she wrapped her legs around him and drew his hips into her. "Harder. I need to feel more."

And so he began with his thrusts; delving into her core harder and faster with each time he drove into her.

With each thrust Lindsay was making more and more noise, clearly unable to contain her emotions and the pleasure coursing through her body any longer. She began with whimpers before progressing to moans that nearly sent Danny tumbling over the edge each time she cried out.

"I..." Lindsay began before promptly biting her lip, "I need more."

"I'm givin' you my all," he growled before sealing their lips together. In keeping to the rhythm he had set, he began to kiss her, their tongues duelling for dominance with the other as her nails slid up and down his back, spurring him on.

"Harder, baby." She pleaded. "Baby, please."

Upon hearing what she'd called him, he began to feel the coil in his stomach begin to snap. Danny increased his pace a little, desperate to answer her pleas but to also send Lindsay over the edge before he promptly met her on the other side.

What she'd just called him – baby – was albeit something he'd never imagined, but nevertheless, a huge turn on. She felt that comfortable with him to call him something so intimate without a second thought.

Letting his weight fall on her, he broke their string of kisses and instead, he buried his head in the nook of her neck and grazed his teeth across her red skin where he'd been suckling and biting previously.

"I'm so close." She whispered as he nails dug into his back.

"I've got'cha." He whispered against her neck, his breath sending chills down her spine. "I'm here to catch ya."

"I need..." She trailed off as she once again sunk her teeth into her bottom lip.

Somehow understanding what she was asking of him, Danny's fingers sought out her clit and began expertly massaging the throbbing nub. Beginning to feel the tell-tale sign of what he thought was her climax; Danny sealed his lips to her neck as he continually drove into her, while massaging her clit. He knew that he wouldn't be able to hold on for much longer, but there was no way he wasn't going to give Lindsay what she so desperately needed.

She needed to _feel. _She needed to feel him. She needed to feel alive. She needed to feel free from everything she'd felt over the past six months.

"Don't stop," she pleaded with him as she gazed up through her eyelashes. "Keep doin' that."

"I've got no intentions of stoppin'," He lied as he increased his pace a little more, desperation overcoming him as he tried to ensure her orgasm first.

"I'm so..." He voice trailed off as Danny's thumb continually flicked her clit. "Danny I... I'm gonna..."

He sealed his lips to hers and her moan as she came around him reverberated into his mouth, sending chills down his spine as he felt her and heard her reach her climax.

As her feminine muscles clenched his throbbing cock, he quickly began to let go as he spilled into the condom; the only thing still separating them. His teeth sunk into her swollen lip as he rode her through the tail end of her orgasm and through the height of his.

He'd never really been one to make noises or feel the need to silence himself for that matter, but with Lindsay... she did things to him and his body that he wasn't really sure of.

As he felt himself slowly coming down from his high, let exhaled and slumped against Lindsay, cautious not to put too much of his weight on her, but unable to move regardless.

"You did promise you'd be right there after me," she panted as her chest heaved from their love-making. "You weren't kiddin'..."

"Of course I was gonna fall after you... After that there's no way I could have held on for much longer."

She smiled at him before falling into a contemplative silence.

"I'm glad this happened." He rasped as he pressed a kiss to her temple.

Silence filled the space between his admission and her answer. "It's... over." Her small voice sounded after a few moments.

Feeling his heart drop to his stomach, he swallowed. That hadn't exactly been the reply he'd been looking for. "Was it bad?" Danny puffed from his exertion, dreading the answer she was about to supply him with.

"Not that. God, not that..." She smiled as she tangled her fingers through his and laid them, intertwined on his chest. "The case. The nightmares. The not knowing who I was anymore. The pushing you away. It's done. Over."

A part of the sinking feeling within him lifted when she included the part about her pushing him away.

"And how do you feel now?" He pressed, his chest still rising and falling as he tried to find his composure.

"Alive." She answered in a word as she snuggled into his side. "Like I've been given the chance for a new beginning."

He nodded as he pressed a kiss to her sweaty temple. "Well, you do have that... I'm just glad that I followed my instincts."

"Me too." She whispered, her chest rapidly rising and falling.

She peered up at him through her eyelashes and sensed a little hesitation on his part. She'd had the one night of passion before, and she hated the fact that she was getting that feeling from Danny. The feeling that he felt this was all it was for her. One night.

She needed to give him something to hang on to, to show him that this was the real deal for her.

"What you thinkin' about?" He drawled, sleep obviously threatening for him.

"I just needed to find me, Danny. I always knew I'd come back to you; I want you to know that."

Danny let out a sigh, as his eyes slowly began to close. He was beginning to realise it didn't matter. It didn't matter that she'd wanted to feel something with him. It didn't matter when, or where they slept together for the first time.

All that mattered was that she came back to him. And she was clearly in it for the long haul.

* * *

"Danny?"

Danny scrunched his face up as he felt a finger prod the end of his nose, attempting to get his attention. He opened up his eyes and forced them to focus on a face hovering over him, and as he did, he broke out into a warm smile.

"Hey you."

"Tired?"

"Mhmm." He nodded. "It's been a long ass day. An amazing day though. Best day of my entire life."

Smiling, Lindsay snuggled into his side as best she could. "You were smiling when you were sleeping... What were you dreaming about?"

Pressing a kiss to the crown of her head before laying his hand over her belly, Danny chuckled. "You don't wanna know."

"Ugh! A 'man dream'... whatever Danny. Pervert!"

"It was a man dream about you." He chuckled at Lindsay's ridiculous term she'd offered him. "You and me actually."

"Oh yeah? Instead of actually consummating our marriage you decided to dream about it?"

"We did some consummating earlier, thank you very much." Danny furrowed his brow. "And for your information I was reliving our first time."

Lindsay blushed. "You were?"

"From what I remember I was kind of mean."

"Mean..." She snorted. "I was practically throwing myself at you and you were acting holier than thou with all your 'self control'."

"Hah." Danny smirked. "Self control? Your eyes weren't looking in the right place if you were under the impression I had self control. I was sporting a very attractive bulge. I just didn't want to ruin what we had by making a rash decision."

"I'll say," she smirked snuggling further into his side. "For what it's worth, I appreciate the fact that you were trying to look out of me."

"I'm glad, because I was... I tried so hard. I just, I can't say no to you."

She giggled as she moulded herself, despite her extremely swollen stomach, into his side.

Silence fell upon them for a few moments as they basked in the comfortable atmosphere that surrounded them in their apartment.

"You really did come back to me, didn't you?" he observed as he wrapped his arm around her and pressed a kiss to her temple. "Once you came back to me, you sure as hell weren't goin' anywhere."

She merely smiled as she toyed with her wedding ring as she watched it glistening on her finger.

Contemplating something, Danny chewed his lip before letting out a breath. "Come with me a second."

"Where?" she sighed. "Danny, I'm tired."

"It's nothing strenuous. I promise."

Sighing, Lindsay tangled her fingers between his, giving him the chance to help her from the bed and followed him out into the hallway.

With absolutely no clue what his intentions were.

* * *

**So go on, let me have it. What did you think? I know it was oh so non-canon... but I mean it _could_ have happened. But didn't... I know. But still... I hope it came out okay. I told Megan and Amy I was going to bed about two and a half hours ago, and was, but then inspiration hit so here we are at 4:26am... hahah! So, I hope it was okay!**

**And really, let me know what you thought because I'd really appreciate it. Thanks for reading!**


	46. Because You Loved Me

**A/N: So I'm currently trying to find things to do to kill the time before NY comes on in 20 or so minutes. I've got the Cake Boss episode on that I DVRed last week and have watched like 3994596 times, so I was like this is boring - I'm quoting Buddy over here, so LET'S UPDATE! I was at the point where I kept tweaking it, I was doing more harm than good, so here we go! **

**In other news, (and actually related to the story news) I know this song is quite possibly the sappiest song ever written, and I was a little hesitant in using it because there's a fine line between fluff and cheese that I didn't want to cross... but the song fits DL – and any couple actually. So basically, it was a song I couldn't pass up trying my hand at. **

**And now for the million dollar question: what on earth was Danny taking her? ... yeah, like I'm going to tell you in the A/N. (I almost started to mind...)**

**Special thank you and shout out to all of you who reviewed last chapter (and those of you who read too - you guys mean a lot too!) but I always love to hear what you think after each chapter! I'm glad to hear you guys liked the M rated scene (among everything else of course) last chapter. I'd told a few of you about how unsure I was, and you really eased my concern and fears with your lovely comments: **messermonroeforever125, NothatRose, MEGAN, brendanakai, Lindsay1234, Dine89, Jennifer32485, ZoeyBug, afrozenheart412, 18lzytwner rapidtetv, danny'ssmontana, bluelilyrose, rhymenocerous and unlikelyRLshipper - **you guys are incredible. Thank you all so much! **

**Warning: serious married, fluff ahead. And this is a serious warning. I kid thee all not. I'm not even sure of fluff is the correct word.**

**(it just took me twenty minutes to write this A/N... CSI:NY is officially starting... hahahahahah!) **

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* * *

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**Because You Loved Me – Celine Dion **

_I'm everything I am because you loved me._

_

* * *

_

_"Where?" she sighed. "Danny, I'm tired."_

_"It's nothing strenuous. I promise."_

Sighing impatiently as she slumped against the couch, Lindsay watched Danny as he bent over his iPod and dock that sat tucked away in the entertainment unit.

"What the hell are you doing?" she growled, her willingness to sit and watch him quickly disappearing. "I have better things to do than to sit here and look at your ass... wait." She giggled, despite her tired frustrations with her new husband. "No I don't. Wait, yes... yes I do; I need to pack, Danny."

"Patience is a virtue, Montana." He tossed over his shoulder as he searched for a song, she could only assume.

"Well, it's a virtue I don't have right now. I need to pack!"

"If you give me these few minutes now, I'll Fed-ex you everything you need after you leave. Please Lindsay?"

Merely sighing in response, she accepted defeat and sat back on the couch.

After a few more moments of fiddling, Danny turned and leant against the arm of the chair that sat next to the entertainment unit. He sighed as he realised that it wasn't going to be the surprise he wanted it to be. "So, while we had our reception dinner with those clowns, we never had the chance to... we never..."

"You can do it," she teased lightly, kind of figuring what he had led her out in the living room to do.

"We never got our first dance." He blushed in the small light of the living room; the only light being provided by the lamp that Danny had switched on. "And I know I kind of made you miss out on all the traditional wedding day activities so I wanted to... Well..." He leant over and grabbed the small remote.

He hadn't really given her the chance to react to his thoughtful actions, and tears filled her eyes upon hearing the voice filtering through the speakers of his iPod docking station.

He stood and made his way to her. "I know you love this song because of that movie... what is it, Personal and Up Close?"

"Up Close and Personal," she smirked with an eye-roll as she took the hand he was offering her to help her from off the couch.

"Whatever it's called," he growled playfully at her as he squeezed her petite hand in his, "if anything _good_ came from that movie, which trust me; as a guy that had to sit through it as many times as I have - nothing much did." He ducked a flying hand. "This song puts into words everything I feel for you." He turned and pressed play before dropping the small plastic item on the coffee table.

A smile tugged at her lips as he slowly, yet, gracefully twirled her before bringing her into his body. "Can I have this dance, Mrs. Messer?"

Linking her arms around his neck, she snuggled into his body the best she could despite their child acting as a barrier between the two of them. "Absolutely." She whispered against his cheek before kissing the same spot.

Inhaling his scent as they swayed in time to the music, Lindsay let out a contented sigh. Their wedding hadn't been anything extravagant. Hell, the meal they'd shared with their co-workers had been a measly thirty bucks – which they'd refused to let the newlyweds pay for. So really, the day had cost them twenty five dollars.

It wasn't stereotypically what you would expect from a wedding. There hadn't been a dress. There hadn't been any bridesmaids. There hadn't been a colour scheme. There hadn't been a cake to cut, nor had there been a guest list of hundreds that they'd had to make conversation with – barely having a moment to their own.

What they _did_ have was a pair of rings, a money order and each other. And Lindsay couldn't have pictured a better scenario for them.

"What you thinkin'," he whispered as his body moved in time to her's to the music.

"Just thinking how today was perfect."

"Perfect...? It wasn't _that_ perfect. I would have liked to have given you a lot more, but..."

"The only thing I need is you and our baby, Danny. Our wedding was perfect."

"I could have flown us to Hawaii and got married on the beach." He smirked.

"I wouldn't look good in a bikini right now, so it's probably best you didn't go down that route."

"You're beautiful," he whispered against her temple. "How many times do I gotta tell you that?"

She sighed.

Licking his lips in contemplation at her disbelief in how beautiful she actually was, he pulled away from her, grabbed the remote with his fingertips and began the song from the beginning.

"Missed your favourite part?" she giggled as his arms and hands retook their rightful place on her lower back.

"If I was half capable in putting a song like this together, I'd hope it would come out something like this."

It all became clear; the request to sit out in the living room as he fussed with the iPod and docking station, the slow swaying to the music, the mentions of the song lyrics.

He was trying to tell her how much he loved her, while combining it with their first dance as a married couple.

"For all those times you stood by me." He whispered in time to the song as he pressed a kiss to her forehead.

Her mind shot to specific events in their relationship as she tried to recall all the times she'd stood by him. Louie. Aiden. Flack. Ruben. Rikki. Each bump in their relationship had proven itself difficult in one way or another, but she'd stood by him as a friend and then girlfriend. And although she'd never really thought about it – each bump in their relationship was a time where Danny had _really_ needed her – and she'd been there for him. No questions asked, with her feelings pushed aside.

"For all the wrong that you made right." He swayed in time to the music as she tightened her grip around his neck.

She wasn't particularly sure of the wrong that she'd made right in his life. If she was honest, the impact she'd had on him sometimes overwhelmed her. Never in her wildest dreams would she have thought that she would be able to impact somebody's life as much as she had Danny's; but somewhere along the line she had.

She laid her head against his shoulder; content with the places he was leading her mind and thoughts.

"For all the love I found in you."

Of that, she had no question. She knew how she felt for him, and she hoped that he knew how much she truly loved him. Although if she was honest, something within her told her that he'd barely scraped the surface and actually he had no idea of the intensity to which she loved him; her love had no boundaries. And as much as she hated to admit it – whatever happened between them, she'd always love him.

"You saw the best there was in me."

She had. There was no doubt about the fact that Lindsay Monroe had seen the best in Danny Messer. When people questioned him and his actions, she'd told him to ignore them and follow his heart, because that was what made him stand out from the crowd. It was Danny that Mac had selected to be a part of his team, and she had a strong feeling that his insistence in following his heart into things had been one of the pull factors towards Danny being a part of Mac's team all those years ago. She could see his good heart. And while it had been his weakness – her seeing that vulnerable characteristic in him – she latched onto it, and used that has her fuel to see past the bravado.

She stood on her tiptoes and locked their lips together in a searing, yet romantic kiss- her way of simply letting the song in the background speak for itself. She wanted to show how his words and thinking behind which song to play for their first dance together had not gone unappreciated.

Breaking away from the kiss, she looked up at him through her eyelashes and smiled before laying her head on his shoulder. She'd given him the physical courage through the kiss to continue pulling out the lines that meant the most to them as a couple. Listening to his croaky voice whisper the lyrics into her hair was soothing, yet sent her heart soaring at the same time. Although he was trying, Danny wasn't exactly the most vocal of people, so for him to step out of his comfort zone so dramatically really solidified her belief in that their wedding day had been utterly perfect.

"I lost my faith; you gave it back to me."

A part of her knew exactly what that was referring to; he lost his direction when Ruben had died. He'd lost the reason to function on a day to day basis. He'd been set on his downward spiral into his depressive state, and while it had killed her as he had made the decisions he'd had through his tough time, she knew that he was dealing with bigger things than just their relationship. It killed her, but she'd been put on the back burner in order for him to process and deal with the emotions that were just too heavy for him to handle.

She'd been the one though to pick up the pieces. She'd been the one that had searched for the person he had been and shook his from his funk. And after she'd done that, she'd slowly started work on rebuilding everything else. His passion. His good heart. His determination. His faith.

In their line of work, where they were faced with so many injustices on a daily basis; they both found that they needed something bigger than science to provide them with answers. Lindsay had done so in her own way not desiring to slip into a booth at the back of a Church every Sunday, but to have her own conversation privately. Danny however, being raised to attend Church every Sunday... when he lost his faith, she knew that had been when he'd hit rock bottom.

But somehow when she reached out to him, she'd given his faith back to him.

He'd trailed off in picking lyrics out to her and had chosen to simply bask in the comfort of their closeness and the romantic setting of the music, lighting... and their pyjamas.

Although he had been merely repeating the lyrics of a song to her, she knew they were lyrics that meant so much to them as a couple. Diane Warren might have written the words onto paper, and Celine Dion might have made the millions from her voice selling the lyrics. But Danny Messer was doing quite the fantastic job of convincing Lindsay Messer that this song was written for them.

"What can I say baby girl?" His voice broke the silence, "I'm everything I am because you love me."

Threading her fingers through his short hair, she brought his head and neck down so that he faced her. She rubbed her nose against his. "The only reason you're everything you are is because you make me who I am. Without you, I'm just me."

"But..." She held a finger to his lips, silencing him.

"You were there when I needed you. You gave me that nudge I needed when I couldn't find my voice in the courtroom, and that was something that I needed to do. Without you, I wouldn't have been able to do it... and for that, I'll love you forever."

Pressing a kiss to her forehead, he let out a sigh.

"You, Danny Messer are everything I've always wanted. And I know that it freaks you out every second of everyday that you're not the person that I want you to be, but you are. You're everything I want you to be and more."

"Linds I..."

"Danny, you just danced with me to a Celine Dion song. Do you know how many guys would do that?"

"One." He smirked. "Me."

"Well, you've got yourself a one man band, because I don't imagine many other husbands doing that for their wives."

"Wife." Danny repeated with a grin across his face. "We made it. You and me. We did it."

"We did." She whispered as the song faded out. "We made it."

* * *

**Sappy. Cheesy. Fluffy. Sentimental. Cutesy. Gooey... delete as appropriate I guess. Fred took us on a path I didn't really want to go down, but I'm trying to listen to him a little more and giving him the freedom to make the decisions because he is the one in charge after all. **

**Despite the fluff I hope you all enjoyed the latest instalment. I would really appreciate any thoughts and comments, so drop me a line and please let me know what you thought! **


	47. Mine

**A/N: Hey guys. So, I uploaded before I left so I could update at my grandparents again. I'm pretty sure I have an addiction to fanfiction. But I figure I might as well make the most of posting over the summer while I can. I hope you guys don't mind! hehe. **

**As ever, thank you all for your amazing feedback from last chapter (despite the song choice...) I promise I won't pull another Celine Dion - see, rhymencerous. You have it in writing here. hahah. ****So, as usual, my huge thanks to: **Megan, rhymenocerous, saderia, Lindsay1234, messermonroeforever125, NothatRose, afrozenheart412, 18lzytwner, Dine89, ZoeyBug, rapidtetv, unlikelyRLshipper, mackenzie-blye-callen, Jupitor's-Cowgirl, brendanakai and bluelilyrose.** You guys are amazing and I appreciate your love and support from the bottom of my fluffy little heart! :]**

* * *

**Mine – Taylor Swift**

_You are the best thing that's ever been mine. _

* * *

"Here good?"

Glancing up at the diner, Lindsay shrugged.

"You hafta eat, Linds. I ain't sendin' you away on an empty stomach."

"Not hungry." She said simply.

"Lies." He smirked. "I told you, I'd send you my police academy shirt. Don't be upset about forgettin' it."

"I'm not upset about _that_."

Pulling her into his side, he let out a sigh as he pressed a kiss to her temple. "I know it's hard right now, but the second you get through security, you'll be fine."

"Whatever." She shrugged away from him and grabbed her suitcase. "You can eat, I don't want anything."

Grabbing the suitcase from her, he slammed it on the floor and took her hand. "Would you and your stubborn, gorgeous ass listen to me for one second my adorable wife?"

She huffed and rolled her eyes.

"I know you're going to miss me - God knows I'm gonna miss you too baby; but this is something you _have_ to do."

"Why do I have to travel across the _fucking_ country?" she growled at him. "I'm pregnant, and nearly eight months pregnant at that! If they wanted to see me they should come see me."

"Yeah alright, let's fly the whole Monroe clan out and then we'll put all eight of them up in our two bedroom apartment. Let's go cancel your ticket."

"Really?" Her eyes were hopeful.

"No." He deadpanned. "Lindsay, I know you're anxious and don't want to leave me right now... but you wanted this babe. You did."

"People can change their minds, Daniel." She huffed at him. Not only had she cursed, but she addressed him by his given name. And not even his mother addressed him by that. Not really. He sighed as he mentally stepped back from his original attempt to persuade her in the way he had been.

Except... he really didn't know how to ease her fears and upset. He didn't want to her leave at all. He'd stayed up half the night before twirling his new wedding ring on his finger, anxiety rising in his stomach at the prospect of two long weeks in their bed by himself.

"Danny..." Her eyes pleaded with him. He knew she didn't want to have this argument with him. Not when she was leaving.

"Don't go."

"What?"

"Don't go. Stay with me."

She blinked at him.

"Stay with me Linds. Stay here. We don't have to tell the guys at work you've stayed. You can just relax at home and you call tell your parents that you didn't feel comfortable leaving me when you were so far along. They said they would understand if you changed your mind."

She chewed her lip in contemplation.

"The truth is Linds; I really don't want you to go. I can't stomach the thought of you being so far away. So stay with me. If you don't want to go, then don't go."

"I have to go," she whispered. "I promised my Mom. You bought my ticket."

He fought the smile that tugged at his lips. Reverse psychology apparently worked... Boom.

"You know that whatever you want I'll support you, baby. I just don't want you to make the decision and then regret it half way through your flight to Denver."

Running her fingers through her hair, Danny caught her wedding ring gleaming on her ring finger that was tangled in her hair. He smiled as he saw the sun reflecting off of it. "You know what, go."

"Go. Don't go." She giggled. "I'm so confused. What do you want me to do?"

"I want you to do whatever makes you happy." He smiled as he took her hand and pressed a kiss to it. "If you want to go, I want you to go." He paused and looked into her eyes. "And I know you do."

"I'm just scared I'll miss you."

"You will miss me," Danny nodded. "And I'll miss you too. But it's only two weeks, and I promise you I'll be there to pick you up when you walk through that arrivals door."

"Promise?"

He held out his pinky, hinting for her to latch theirs together. "I promise."

"Hungry?" She giggled after kissing his pinky latched to her's.

"Starvin'." He smiled as he took hold of her bag with one hand, and her hand with his other.

They found a secluded and quiet part of the diner and Lindsay lowered herself to the seat at the table as Danny made sure he tucked her into the table so that she was comfortable, after positioning her suitcase out of the way from passersby.

"What's good?" She asked as she picked up the menu and began flick through.

"The view." He smiled simply.

* * *

Their lunch had ended better than it had started. After smacking him across the head with her menu because of his comment about the view being good - they'd broken into giggles, realising how silly they were being. It was two weeks and what was two weeks when they had the rest of their lives to spend together? Two weeks in the grand scheme of things was nothing. Right?

They'd devoured their meals in a comfortable silence, sharing glances every now and then – he even threw in a wink that sent her into a giggling fit.

They'd pushed the time to the very limit before they absolutely had to leave the small diner and head to the airport – much to Lindsay's despair.

He'd checked her in, fearing her voice would break and tears would spill down her cheek. He did a good job, making sure she only had to speak when she had to answer about her bags being packed, anyone giving her anything to take on the plane – all the usual crap. Danny had smirked after the check-in clerk turned her attention to the computer and pressed a kiss to Lindsay's temple which effectively gave him the chance to whisper: "What do you think she would have done had I said you'd been given some small packet of white powder..." into her ear.

That had earned him a smack to the arm- and a hard one at that - despite the tears every now and then slipping down her cheeks.

They'd then been sent off after successfully checking Lindsay in - which brought them to where they currently were. Stood in the middle of the check-in desk and security check-point; attempting to say goodbye.

"You're such a wuss," he teased her as we wiped away the tears spilling down her cheeks. "I thought you were better at goodbyes than this."

"I'm not good at long goodbyes. Or short ones for that matter. Remember?"

"I remember... I still have it." He smiled at her. "The card..."

"You do?" She asked, eyebrows raised and extremely impressed.

"Yup." He smirked. "Along with a movie stub from our first official date - it's yours, I think I tossed mine out but I still have one. Then I have the receipt from the time you tried to take me out to thank me for taking your shift and taking a beatin' for ya."

"That was a hundred and fifty dollar meal Danny; you should have let me pay." She growled at him.

"Actually, I owed you a Benjamin. So really, the meal was fifty bucks."

"Smartass."

"I try," he smirked as he pulled her into his arms and pressed a kiss to her forehead. "Two weeks is nothin' babe. We're gonna be fine. You'll be on the flight back home before you know it."

"I know, I just guess I'm used to having you around and it's scary knowing you're not going to be right there when I turn around and look for you."

"I'm at the other end of the phone though," he reasoned. "Day or night... you know I won't be sleepin' anyway, so..."

"I just... I'm not good at goodbyes; especially when it comes to you."

"It's not goodbye, babe... it's I'll see ya in two weeks."

"I guess."

"And you know it's only technically three hundred and thirty six hours. That's practically nothin'... so don't be worryin' about me. I'll be right here when you get back."

"You know what?" Lindsay sniffled as she tangled her fingers through his.

"What?" He smiled.

She stood on her tiptoes and pressed her lips to Danny's cheek. "You are the best thing that's ever been mine." She then rendered him speechless - not by her words - but by a romantic, goodbye kiss.

As she pulled away, he swallowed as she turned and headed straight for security without turning around. Feeling his heart racing as her footsteps carried her further away from him, he knew he had to do something.

"Lindsay!" The first time was muffled by the crowds around him, but he cleared his throat and called her a little louder. "Lindsay Messer!"

She turned just as she was about to put her bag on the belt, tears slipping down her cheek.

Silently, he pointed to his eye, his chest, and then towards her.

"I love you too." She mouthed before turning and making her way through security.

He watched until she was out of his sight and swiped at the single tear that slipped down his cheek. God was he going to miss her. But, if she had to do this; he could wait those three hundred and thirty six hours until she came back.

He had to... after all, he had the make sure he stayed the best thing that was her's.

* * *

**So, there we have it... she left :( I know it took me a few chapters to get passed those two days, but Fred just had so many ideas for the small time period, I couldn't not do them... he wouldn't let me :( hahaha. **

**So yeah, I hope you enjoyed the latest installment - I'd appreciate any thoughts or comments you have! :] **

**...oh, and thanks for reading! hehe. **


	48. Faithfully

**A/N: So, I'm currently a little sunburnt from a day of swimming in the Florida sun, and I'm a little woozy from paint fumes after a two hour painting session (or was it three?) anyway... rather than working on a new chapter tonight (really, it's not wise...) I thought I would tweak this one a little and update. I don't know why I haven't tweaked this one before because this has been written since... actually, if I remember correctly, this chapter was written before we had that whole angst arc about 5798989 chapters ago, so I hope it's as good as every other chapter is: I seem to remember specifically liking this one... I think. But we'll see what you guys think!**

**In other news I'm currently in the middle of quite the raging argument with Fred right now. Fred thinks he's capable to work on three different chapters and two stories at the same time, and Laura thinks that if he does that Laura's mind will explode, so Laura put her foot down and now Fred isn't co-operating on ANY of the chapters/stories. Moral of the story - listen to Fred. He's the boss-man around here. Not Laura. So what I'm attempting to tell you (told you I was woozy from the paint fumes...) is that although I'm working on it, it might be a little while before the next update - depending on when Fred moseys out of his funk and gets to work.**

**(P.S. Megan - Fred's still working on the chapter you'll like, Laura just doesn't like the end scene and the lyrics he picked, so we're in debates about that.) **

**I didn't get the chance to check my emails for a day or so after I posted the last chapter - and I was astounded at the 16 amazing reviews sat there in my inbox - you guys are just awesome! There are no other words other than the biggest thank you from me to each of you! **rhymenocerous, uscrocks, webdlfan, Meggie, NothatRose, messermonroeforever125, ZoeyBug, saderia, afrozenheart412, 18lzytwner, Jennifer32485, ,brendanakai Dine89, rebandmel, unlikelyRLshipper, rapidtetv and csifan1101 - **even though yours wasn't a review, I still wanted to thank you for your lovely PM, sweetie! You guys are incredible! **

**And to let you know, webdlfan, brendankai, nothatrose and crazymoo97 - I'm currently working all of your ideas you've given me in reviews or past PM's into the next few chapters! And, prplerayne, I do believe this is something along the lines of what you mentioned in a review not too long ago, so I hope this works for you! :] **

**... and that concludes an epic A/N. One of these days, my A/N will be longer than the chapter. hah.**

**

* * *

**

**Faithfully – Journey **

_Restless hearts sleep alone tonight; sending all my love through the wire._

_

* * *

_

Letting out a sigh as she closed her empty suitcase, Lindsay suddenly felt extremely aware of the fact she was alone; without Danny. She'd been surrounded by hundreds of people throughout the entire day as she travelled across the country, but in the confines of her childhood bedroom, she realised that those hundreds of people that had kept her wandering mind at bay had disappeared.

Her aching heart was going to be sleeping alone tonight. There wasn't going to be a Daniel Messer there to hold her and kiss her till she fell asleep.

Her fingers curled around her cell phone as she internally decided to call Danny, even if it was to hear his voice on his answering machine. As she pressed the last digit to his number, her bedroom door opened, and revealed her beaming mother.

"You're all unpacked then?"

"Yep," Lindsay smiled in response, cancelling the numbers she'd just typed on her pad.

Her mother sat on the small bed and let out a sigh as her eyes fell on the lines on her daughter's face. "You miss him, don't you?"

"Is it that obvious?" Lindsay asked, a little embarrassed of being so see-through to her mother.

"He's your husband, Lindsay, of course it's obvious. But it's not a bad thing by any means... under the circumstances it's the very least of what I would expect you to be feeling."

"Husband." Lindsay smiled proudly while examining her ring. "He's my husband."

"And he'll still be your husband when you get back." Her mother smiled as she lowered the phone to the bed and took her daughter's hand. "Come on, I'm stealing you for an hour... you're going to tell me all about your pregnancy, and your husband."

Lindsay let out a sigh as her screen faded to black... Maybe the hour with her mother talking about Danny would ease the longing for him she had in her chest.

* * *

Meanwhile, sat in an empty New York apartment; Danny Messer sighed as the silence slowly killed him.

He'd fought the urge to call Lindsay... again at least. He'd called her when she'd gotten to her gate at JFK, and then again when she'd connected in Denver. She had promised him a text when she landed in Montana because while he wanted to be sure that she had arrived safe, they had both decided against an emotional phone call; confirming that they'd be spending the two weeks apart. He didn't want to put a downer on Lindsay's time with her family, and she didn't want him throwing himself into hours upon hours of work like he did the last time she went home.

Glancing at the clock as it struck twelve; he sighed. He had the morning shift at nine and knew that if he was going to be fully functioning, he needed to get to bed promptly.

Danny hesitantly rose from where he'd been laying on the couch since he'd dropped Lindsay off at the airport and fought the head rush that had quickly overcome him. He began the short walk to his and Lindsay's bedroom and tried his best to ignore the pieces of Lindsay that still lay where she had left them. The decorative cushions and the pictures on the wall were just constant reminders that she wasn't going to be there for a couple of weeks, and as silly as it was, they both angered him and made his heart ache more.

Growling, Danny pulled his BlackBerry from his pocket and dialled Lindsay's number. Even if she didn't answer, he'd get the chance to hear her voice on her voicemail before he went to sleep. He willed for her to pick up and held onto the last second until his hope was crushed when it went to the answering machine. He took a deep breath and left his message: "Hey Linds, it's only me... You must be asleep or with your Mom or something... I just wanted to call and tell you I love you and miss you. I'll catch you tomorrow. G'night babe." He promptly hung up and let out a sigh as he changed into something a little more comfortable.

As he pulled back the covers, his heart prepared itself for a restless night of sleeping alone.

And if he was completely honest... it was a prospect he detested.

* * *

Lindsay tried to keep the conversation going as she heard her ringtone upstairs, but even she knew her expression gave her away.

"It might not be Danny sweetheart; it is twelve o'clock there, correct?"

"Yes Daddy." Lindsay sighed. "I just... never mind, where was I?" Her smile desperately fake as she continued the conversation.

"She thinks we've never been separated... We know the fake smiles and the sighs, darlin'." Lindsay's father teased. "The boy can wait ten minutes."

"It might not be him." Lindsay snipped with a glint in her eye. "I'm fine, honest."

"Bullshit," Lindsay's mother exclaimed. "Good to know you still can't lie for shit, Linds."

"Mom!"

"We're only playing, baby bear." Her father smiled. "We've been where you are... we just want you for a little while."

"I know," Lindsay sighed, guilt filling her at how she was acting. "I just feel like I didn't get enough time with him before I left... and you know how bad I am at goodbyes."

"But you've got the rest of your lives when you get back, kiddo." Her father, Jack, smiled. "Now, here's something that will make you smile. Did Danny ever tell you that he called me?"

"No..." Lindsay furrowed her brow. "When?"

Jack smiled and cracked his knuckles. "I didn't think he would have."

"Am I supposed to have any idea what you're talking about? Why's he acting so cryptic, Mom?" Lindsay giggled. "What does he know that I don't?"

"Were you under the impression you told us about your pregnancy?"

"Um... yeah..." Lindsay's eyes began to slowly widen in realisation. "He told you?"

Jack smirked. "He called to ask for my permission to marry you."

"He did what?" Lindsay implored, almost tripping over her own words. "When?"

"Oh... months and months ago - weeks before you even called to tell us you were pregnant. Thanks for that by the way, darlin'."

"Wait hold up a second, I told you when I was like three months gone. I wanted to make sure... well, you know..."

"Yeah. I'm just pullin' your leg with that, kiddo."

"Well, do you have the phone records that indicate when he called?"

"Why - do I need an alibi or something? Am I under arrest?" Jack smirked. "Turn off cop mode a minute, Linds."

"Sorry," she blushed as she settled in her seat. "I just... I don't understand. Why... how..."

"He called and was very... flustered." Jack recalled with a smile. "He actually had to hang up and call back because he'd screwed up what he wanted to say. I seem to remember him calling me Messer, and himself Monroe."

Lindsay broke out into giggles as her mother simply looked on and listened to the conversation between father and daughter.

"He was serious. He wanted to marry you... looks like he eventually got his way."

"What did he say?" Lindsay pressed.

"Well after I reamed him for treating you like a toy he'd grown tired of; he told me how much you meant to him and how much of a mistake he'd made in how he had treated you before. It sounded like he really didn't want to lose you again."

"Really?"

"Yeah... and he even said that the conversation should have been in person you'd notice him if he were gone for the weekend. I didn't believe him at the time but now... Good Lord, if ever it wasn't true, how do the two of you manage at work on different shifts?"

"He really wanted to marry me...?" Lindsay blushed, ignoring her father's smart comment on their ability to function without the other.

"Yeah." Jack smiled. "I gave him a hell of a time with it, so he must have been pretty serious to endure it, because he could have ended the call and thought fuck that."

"Daddy!" Lindsay growled before her serene features softened. "I always thought he had just asked me because he thought it was the right thing to do."

"It probably was that." Lindsay mother finally added as she swiped a tendril of hair from Lindsay's cheek. "But I bet it was so much more than just that."

"You think...?" Lindsay whispered as she sat thoughtful next to her mother.

"I know. I was listening on the other line." She added with a knowing smile.

Lindsay masked a yawn that escaped her lips with a smile but as her eyes fluttered shut, both parents smiled knowingly.

"It's been a long day; we'll carry this on when you get up tomorrow, nice and refreshed. Go call Danny, sweetheart."

"I'm glad I'm home." She smiled as she slowly stood from the couch. "Even though right now it doesn't seem like it."

"Oh we know," Jack smiled. "Don't worry. We know you're a big girl now and have your own life and... we'll talk more tomorrow." Jack stopped himself from keeping Lindsay any longer. "Sweet dreams, kiddo."

"G'night, sweetie." Dana added with a warm and contented smile.

Lindsay flashed her parents a smile as she disappeared from the room and made her way up the creaky stairs.

As soon as she entered her room, she reached for her phone that still lay on her bed and let out a sigh as she saw a voicemail message and a missed call. She pressed the phone to her ear as she prepared to listen to Danny's voice.

"_Hey Linds, it's only me... You must be asleep or with your Mom and Dad or something... I just wanted to call and tell you I love you and miss you. I'll catch you tomorrow. G'night babe."_

She replayed it twice before letting out a sigh and ending the call. She fought internally once again, trying to decide whether she should return the call at such a late hour. Shrugging, she drummed Danny's number into her keypad and held the phone to her ear.

Waiting and waiting, she let out a small sigh as the tone changed to Danny's voicemail. As the beep sounded, she cleared her throat, ready to leave her message: "Hi baby, I'm just returning your call. I guess you're asleep now. I was downstairs with my Mom and Dad - sorry I missed your call... I would have loved to talked to you. I really miss you, and I love you... a lot. I'll speak to you tomorrow though. Hope you're having sweet dreams, Mr. Husband." She giggled before wrapping her message up. "Love you, Dan."

She tossed her cell onto the bed and let out a sigh as she shoved her suitcase from her bed to the floor. Glad that she'd already changed into her pyjamas, Lindsay let out a breath as she pulled back the covers and snuggled under the quilt before switching the light off.

As restless as she would have been before her conversation with her parents, she now had so much more to think of. She had no regrets in making herself and Danny wait to get married because she had promised herself that she wasn't going to jump head first in anything she _could _control. She was absolutely positive when he'd asked her outside of the clerk's office, and she had wanted that certainty when he had asked her the second time. She still had collected a few doubts in the back of her mind regarding Danny and his motives in wanting to get married for months. She thought that it had been out of a need to tend to his responsibilities, and his way to show that he was going to step up and provide for her and their baby by promising her that he was devoted till they parted in death, but that now appeared not to be the case... He wanted to marry her, because he loved her and couldn't see himself without her. Their baby had just given him the chance to realise as such.

Regardless of the reasoning - he was now her husband. And as lonely as she would be tonight as she slept alone, she could smile at the fact that he was forever her's.

* * *

**So, there we have it - another instalment for you all. I hoped you guys liked it. **

**Some of you mentioned things about Lindsay being in Montana and what not - I'm planning on doing some chapters while she's here/there... delete as you feel appropriate, LOL. And I think you'll like what I've come up with/got in mind - so just in case any of you were wondering what the dealio was...**

**I'm now going to stop rambling. I promise - I'm just going to say thanks for reading, and as ever any thoughts are always highly appreciated. **


	49. American Honey

**A/N: So, Fred and I had a heart-to-heart. It turns out he wanted to play away in Rookie Blue land and WYHTG land and I wasn't letting him. After I let him, he came around and decided to be nice and work with me in what I wanted (he's still in a bit of a funk though). So we made a compromise, I cut what he didn't like and he added what I wanted. **

**I would have had this done like an hour or two ago, but I went to YouTube for something and I clicked on one of my recommended videos and spent the next three hours watching DL clips. (I can't remember what I went to YouTube for... I never watched whatever I had wanted to...) But, Epilogue, Dead Reckoning, Lat/long4868979 (whatever that episode is called), NWILL, LRC and the Greater Good say hi. (along with a few DL fan-vids) It was all research for the part of this story that's coming up ahahaha. ... That was absolutely unnecessary in this A/N. Let's move on. **

**I hope you guys like this chapter as much as I loved writing it. I literally just went for it with this, (aside from the ending that caused me a big pain in the ass). I sincerely doubt it is what you guys were expecting, but I think it's super cute. And it's encouraging considering you all liked Lindsay's parents last chapter – and there I shall stop before I give you the whole outline of the chapter! **

**Huge thank you to rhymencerous for offering to help with this chapter – I was absolutely going to send you it and bounce ideas off you... until YouTube got in the way. Next time!**

**This one is dedicated to Megan. I know I've been all spaced out today... stupid leaving to go back home/college and getting all stressed about it. You putted up with me for the entire summer going on, and on, and on, and then on some more! LOL. I know you've already read this, but read it again! hehe. ****And Diane - I think you'll like it too! :) ****And it's _also_ dedicated to webdlfan. I think you'll know why when you get to it. (If not, I'm referring to your review and what you requested! heheh!) **

**... and here we have another A/N that's longer than the chapter. **

**Yet again, I have a huge list of amazing people to thank for their lovely reviews. You guys are literally incredible and I really appreciate every single one of you for spending the time to sit and write me epic reviews like you all do. I really appreciate the comments and feedback! Special thanks and mentions to: **Lindsay1234, webdlfan, Meggie, afrozenheart412, brendanakai, saderia, Dine89, ZoeyBug, rhymenocerous, Meredith and Derek, unlikelyRLshipper and messermonroeforever125.

**Without further adieu and rambling - enjoy! :]**

**

* * *

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**American Honey – Lady Antebellum**

_She grew up on the side of the road; where church bells ring and strong love grows. She grew up good, she grew up slow... like American Honey._

_

* * *

_

Fighting the sunlight that broke her slumber, Lindsay scrunched her eyes tight, desperate to hang onto the half decent night's sleep she'd just gotten. She heard her bedroom door creak open and then a distinct footfall shuffling across the carpeted floor. Realising going back to sleep was out of the question, she attempted to even out her breathing to mimic her normal sleeping pattern. She fought the giggle that begged to be released as she felt the intruder collapse at the foot of her bed. Silence fell in the surroundings of the bedroom for a moment or two before sighs could be heard at the foot of the bed.

"You forget all those times I laid in here pretendin' we were havin' a sleepover. I taught you that fake sleep breathin' thing when Momma used to check up on us. Wake your ass up."

Lindsay sighed with her eyes still closed. "I can't fool you."

"Nope."

"Blunt much?" Lindsay laughed, still with her eyes closed.

"Seriously Linds - not even as much as a phone call to tell me you were here? Call yourself a sister. Maybe a lousy sister..."

"Who flew across the country? Who?" Lindsay finally peeled her eyes open, ready for the defence. "Oh yeah. Me. If you cared that much, you should have picked up the phone and called. I arrived safe by the way."

"New York made you all dramatic. And sarcastic. I'm not sure I like it."

"I was always sarcastic." Lindsay deadpanned.

"Yeah but you have this... New York sarcasm now, it's weird."

"I missed you too, Haley." Lindsay giggled as she sat up and ran her fingers over her face, attempting to wake herself up.

"Well shit, Daddy said you had something to show me but I just figured he meant that baby you're carryin'... He never mentioned anything about a rock that size. You got _married?_ Christ Linds..."

"Um, surprise?" Lindsay sing-songed timidly with jazz hands.

"SURPRISE? Surprise? I can't believe this." Haley growled as she tugged Lindsay's hand towards her to give her a better view of the wedding and engagement ring that sat on Lindsay's left ring finger. "What happened to the pink fluffy bridesmaid dress I was gonna wear as a form of torture? We had it planned, Linds."

"You hate pink."

"Hence it being _torture,_ dumbass. What was it? A shot-gun wedding?"

Lindsay licked her lips and giggled.

"You're kidding."

"My last name suggests otherwise."

"You got married? Seriously?"

Lindsay simply nodded.

"When?"

"Um..." closing her eyes, Lindsay thought for a moment, "the day before yesterday."

"And to think I haven't even met this guy." Haley Monroe shook her head. "I didn't get to give him the Haley-talk or anything. I needed to make sure he was good enough for my baby sis."

"That talk is about eight months too late." Lindsay smirked as she gestured down to her stomach. "And anyway, you're friends with him on Facebook. He added you! And we have enough pictures together on there, so it's _like_ you know him. And when you call and I'm doing something he answers-..."

"The fact that you trailed off scares me a little." Upon no answer, Haley cried out and buried her head in the comforter. "Lindsay!"

"Hey, I didn't say anything that incriminates me... but swiftly moving on from that topic..." she finished with a blush.

"It still upsets me you didn't even call, Linds."

"I knew I'd be seeing you in like a day though... and Mom and Dad knew; therefore it's not my fault if they didn't share the news."

"Whatever." Haley huffed, the small smile tugging at her lips indicated she wasn't entirely serious, but was still a little hurt nonetheless.

"At least tell me you're happy for me..."

Sighing, Haley fought the smile that tugged at her lips. "How could I not be? Have you seen the beam on your face? Those pearly whites are dazzling me."

"I missed you Hales."

Lying next to her sister on the double bed, Haley let out a sigh. "I missed you too, sis. It's been too long. The last time I saw you was for the trial and we all weren't exactly fun and games, you know?"

"Well, I told you I have a spare room sat there in my apartment, waiting for you to claim it as your own."

"Oh please, you'd be off saving the world every two minutes... and then you'd have that City Boy all over you... no thanks."

"Hey, that's my husband you're talking about."

"Should I expect a lot of that?"

"A lot of what?" Lindsay cocked her head on her pillow so that she could see her sister's face a little better.

"Husband references?"

"Maybe." Lindsay giggled. "Just until it sinks in."

"I'm looking forward to that... not. I'm hurt you didn't even call, Linds. Seriously."

"Hales, he ambushed me."

"Whatever."

"No seriously," Lindsay giggled. "I had no idea; he planned everything without me knowing."

"So, he forced you to get married?" Haley inquired with a raised eyebrow. "Great story to tell the kids," she smirked as she laid a hand over her sister's stomach. "Hear that kiddo, Mommy was ambushed."

"Well, ambushed probably wasn't the _correct_ word, wiseass. He thrust the opportunity upon me."

"He's done a lot of thrusting apparently."

"Haley!" Lindsay cried as she smacked her sister.

"It's true," Haley shrugged. "Unless it was you who..."

"Change of subject!"

"Okay," Haley smirked. "Can I be the one to comment on the fact that you're spending your honeymoon away from him?"

Lindsay merely smacked her sister with a nearby pillow.

"Apparently that's still a sore subject." Haley smirked as she rubbed the side of her head as she sat up and shuffled down to the bottom of the bed so she faced Lindsay. "Fair deal."

Cocking her head to the side, Lindsay let out a sigh. "I have a favour to ask..."

"No you can't have the kidney. I've told you this before."

"Look who turned into a comedian..." Lindsay sighed, complete with an eye-roll.

"You roll your eyes anymore and they'll come right out of those sockets, Linds..."

"Would you shut up? Geez, you have a wiseass limit you have to hit today?"

"Maybe."

"Whatever. I've another favour to ask if you won't give me a kidney I don't even need..." she smirked.

"Go on, what?"

Throwing the quilt from her bottom half Lindsay raised her calves and placed them on her sister's lap. She smiled silently; her expression and wiggling of her toes explained what Haley needed to know.

Observing the paint job, Haley shook her head. "Who the frick butchered your nails?"

"... Danny. He tried really hard, and he's been getting better."

"I bet that killed him, painting your nails..." Biting her lip to stop the laughter escaping, Haley placed Lindsay's feet on the bed and went to Lindsay's make up case that sat in the bathroom and handed it to her sister. "How long has it been since you've seen your toes?"

"Hah." Lindsay huffed as she rummaged through her make-up bag, pulling out a light blue nail polish and nail polish remover pads and handed them to Haley before zipping the bag up and placing it on the crumpled sheets. "I honestly don't know."

"How the fuck did he paint these, Linds? His mouth? Jesus!"

"He tried!" Lindsay defended Danny's poor skills in painting nails. "And he'd never, ever done it before. That is honestly an improvement."

"Why don't you just get yourself to some cheap nail place and get them done?"

"Sure, I'll get right on that... after I've worked a ten hour shift."

"Wow, someone woke up cranky." Haley smirked as she quickly removed the red nail polish. "I thought you hated red for your toes."

"Danny picks what colour." Lindsay smiled. "He feels that if he picks the colour it makes it less girlish." Upon seeing Haley's lopsided and disbelieving grin, Lindsay merely shrugged. "Who am I to argue, the guy is painting my nails out of his own free will. I'm not going to start with him if he picks out red."

"Why do you even have red?"

"Red is one of Danny's favourite colours." Lindsay shrugged.

"So? How often does he see your toes? As you get into bed? Hah, let me guess – you have some kinky underwear and wanted to get you to match wit-..." Haley trailed off and glanced at her sister's facials expressions. Haley playfully gagged as she shook the bottle of nail polish. "I went into a territory that should have not been entered. Ever. You animal. Animal!"

"You're telling me you've never done anything like that?" Lindsay giggled. "Because I don't believe it for a second."

"Yes, but I'm not my baby sister, Linds. You are. You're my baby sis. You engaging in...in... _that_ isn't the top of my list of my favourite things to think about..."

"How did you think I got pregnant, Haley?" Lindsay teased.

"Kittens licked your stomach." Haley retorted with a glint in her eyes.

"You're a hoot." Lindsay giggled as she watched her sister paint her nails. "Even though I can't see my toes, they thank you. I mean God love Danny for trying, but a part of me wonders whether he's doing it bad on purpose, you know - so that he doesn't have to do it again?"

"Why do you keep askin' then?" Haley asked with an arched brow. "Seems stupid if you ask me."

"Well, he offers," Lindsay shrugged. "He always used to watch me do my nails."

"Wow..." she laughed. "you really-" Haley trailed off and cocked her head to one side and from the look on her face, she was listening intently to something. "You hear that?"

"Hear what?" Lindsay giggled with a smile on her face.

Haley narrowed her eyes and shrugged, finishing the last toe. "I just... I thought I heard something hit your window."

"You're going crazy." Lindsay informed her with a smirk. "But thanks for helping me out."

"S'good." She smiled as she screwed the cap to the nail polish on tight and handed it back to Lindsay. "It reminded me of painting your nails when we were little."

"So," Lindsay smiled, feeling content at her catch-up session with her sister. "How are you and Nathan?"

"Fine," Haley shrugged. "He's busy with different things; otherwise he would have come with."

"Mom pestering you two to have kids yet?"

"It's all she's said to me since you went and told her you were pregnant. Thanks for that, by the way..."

"You're um... welcome?"

"Yeah yeah," Haley waved off the reply as she craned her ear towards the window. "Please tell me you heard that."

"Haley... heard what?"

Standing up, Haley moved throw the bedroom and stood at the bay window. "Your window's wet."

"It might have rained last night," Lindsay shrugged.

"Holy..." Haley jumped as something exploded against the window. "Linds!"

"What the fuck was that?" Lindsay spat as she shuffled out of her double bed. "A bird? A bird that's dead now..."

"A fucking water balloon." Haley announced. "Bets on it's Brad."

"Hah." Lindsay giggled as she made her way through her bedroom. "It concerns me a forty year old would willingly buy water balloons."

"They're probably left over from that summer you broke your arm and water balloons were banned indefinitely."

Lindsay giggled at the memory as she sat down at her old and worn desk.

"You still have..."

"Of course." Lindsay guffawed as she rummaged through a drawer. "Did I tell you about the time I made one out of the first aid kit at work?"

"Was Mr. Hubby there?" Haley smirked as she peaked over the window pane and dodged a water balloon as one hit the window once again.

"He was Mr. Boyfriend back then, but yes Danny was there... and that window is closed, doofus, you don't have to keep dodging the water balloons."

"And he turned into Mr Husband after that?" Haley asked with raised eyebrows, ignoring her smartass comment about the window being closed. "You cast yourself a spell over him, did you?"

"The Montana charm," Lindsay winked as she handed her sister a slingshot and a mini eraser.

"You don't have anything better than this?" Haley looked down in disgust at the pathetic weapon. "An eraser?"

"I didn't have chance to scoop up any rocks earlier, what with me being completely incapable of doing anything other than _waddling_." Lindsay threw in the last word with a significant amount of annoyance in her tone.

"Alright, point taken." Haley shrugged. "But you realise we're making ourselves vulnerable for attack once we open the window. You know Kyle's there too, right? And if all we have are erasers, then well... I might just abandon ship."

"Well, what else can we sling at them?" Lindsay sighed as she looked around her bedroom.

"I don't know, what do you have in here?" Haley asked as she opened up a drawer. "Oh my... Linds!"

"What?" Lindsay looked up from the drawer she was rummaging in as another water balloon hit the window.

"Marbles!" Haley beamed as she held up a bag of glass marbles.

"Haley! That'll knock them out," Lindsay shook her head, but giggling nonetheless. "We can't use them." She said as she turned her attention back to her drawer that was really quite empty to begin with.

"They won't screw with us again." Haley shrugged as she ripped open the mesh bag and moved over to the window seat. "You better get over here otherwise there's going to be a nice puddle right there on your carpet..."

Sighing, Lindsay padded over to the window and sat down as she arranged a marble in the slingshot. She looked to Haley and nodded in confirmation that she was armed and ready.

Haley flicked the lock on the window and pushed the two panels of glass away from her, opening them up to Brad and Kyle Monroe's attack with water balloons.

"They're quiet," Lindsay whispered. "Are we sure they're still there?"

"Of course they're still there." Haley sighed. "How many hours did we spend doing this, Linds?"

"But-" She stopped abruptly as Haley grabbed a decorative cushion as a shield from a free-falling water balloon.

"You sure you wanna play this game?" Haley smirked as she edged herself out of the window, trying to move herself around Lindsay who had a handful of marbles, ready for attack.

"Oh we're sure!" Kyle smirked. "Battle of the sexes... old school."

Haley turned and shrugged to her sister who was positioned on the window seat. "You've gotta promise me you're not gonna get hurt, Linds. I don't really feel like dealing with the NYPD for injuring their sweetheart in a fierce battle of water ballooning, you know?"

"I'm fine." Lindsay rolled her eyes as she pulled back her slingshot, hitting Brad in the chest with a marble.

"Whoa, what the-" Observing what just hit him, the oldest Monroe brother bent down and picked up the glass ball with his thumb and forefinger. "Marbles? Seriously?"

"I haven't lived here for four years!" Lindsay cried out in defence as she watched Haley shuffle further out of the window.

"Game on." Haley smirked towards Brad as he tossed a water balloon in the air. "Game on, Bradley."

Brad launched the water balloon, exploding just short of the window and on the side of the house. "Fuck." Kyle then tossed his in the direction of Lindsay and Haley, and Haley changed its course and direction as she swatted it away with the back of her hand.

"They're making it easy," Lindsay giggled- loud enough for her brothers to hear. "Looks like they didn't bring their A-Game, huh Hales."

"Apparently not." Haley giggled as she flung another marble at the two men stood underneath the window.

"Are they questioning our skills?" Brad implored. "Seriously?"

"I think they are." Kyle chuckled. "They have no clue, do they?"

Upping their attack, both Lindsay and Haley increased the pace to which they were flinging marbles down at their brothers. Lindsay giggled as she watched Haley, fully intending on hitting them with each marble – whereas Lindsay was a being a little kind and missing 'on purpose' she reasoned with herself.

What they didn't notice was the screen door of the front door creaking open as it usually did, which had subsequently brought Brad and Kyle to a stop – giving Lindsay and Haley the chance to pour the marbles down on the boys.

"Girls, what the hell are you doing?" a booming voice sounded, bringing their attack to a stop immediately. "What the hell are all these marbles doing on the ground? And why is the ground wet?"

Sharing a glance between the two of them, Haley merely smiled and shrugged down the two stories towards where her brothers and father now stood.

"I'm'a need an answer here, girls." Jack growled at his two daughters as they hung out of the window – Lindsay the best she could and Haley practically sat on the roof.

"They were being mean!" Lindsay finally cried pathetically. "They smashed a bunch of water balloons against my window. They were asking for us to try out some target practice."

Running his fingers through his greying hair, Jack Monroe sighed heavily. "I swear to God. Brad, you're nearly as grey as me. Kyle, you're supposed to be at work... Lindsay, you're eight months pregnant, and Haley... well."

"Hey!" Haley muttered in disgust. "I resent that."

"You're all over 30... Please, for _once_ act your ages. I'm sure Danny wouldn't appreciate his wife hanging out a window... and I don't want Lindsay going into labour while she's here, so stop antagonising her, because we all know she's going to give as good as she gets."

"I won't go into labour!" Lindsay huffed, before adding: "Danny isn't here and he told me I wasn't allowed to... you know, go into labour."

"Isn't allowed? You heard that, Brad? Already tellin' her what to do... How's about you and I catch the red-eye to New York and show him what-..."

"Enough!" Jack cried just as Lindsay was about to cut in on her two brothers. "You," He pointed at Kyle, "Get to work and stop winding your sister up. You-"he turned to point at Brad. "Go do something more productive than throwing water balloons at your sisters and stop winding them up." He faced the bedroom at the front of the house and pointed at Haley. "Get off the roof and you," he finally pointed at Lindsay. "Be more careful, sweetheart, you're pregnant... you're not as bouncy as you usually are."

"Activity for tomorrow, boys! ... See if Lindsay bounces." Haley smirked at her brothers.

"I dare you." Jack growled. "Haley, your Mother wanted to show that magazine article about getting pregnant, I suggest you go find her."

"That's my cue," she giggled as she turned and made her way through the window. "Daddy's little girl gets off lightly again."

"He's protective... and you were practically on the roof, Hales." Lindsay smirked as she offered Haley a hand as she made her way through the window, back into Lindsay's bedroom.

"I needed a better aim; my favourite kiddo was in the way."

"Aww Hales." Lindsay smiled.

"I meant your stomach."

"Oh." Lindsay frowned. "Well, it was cute for a moment or two."

"Reaming from Dad aside, I'm glad to have you home, Linds."

"Me too." Lindsay smiled. "I've missed this; you know... how we all used to-"

Haley nodded, knowing what Lindsay was trying to say despite being unable to express herself and pressed a kiss to her sister's cheek. "Ready for it? Three... two... o-"

"_HALEY!" _

"You didn't even get to one that time." Lindsay smiled up at her sister.

"Cover your ears," Haley smirked before screaming: "Hang on a minute!" She turned back to her sister and rolled her eyes. "Woman's got no patience. Makes you wonder how she dealt with four kids, you know?"

Lindsay giggled as she watched her older sister retreat from her bedroom. She then sighed and took a moment to observe the chaos they'd created together.

Pushing up from the window seat, Lindsay gathered up the two forgotten slingshots. She placed them back into her desk drawer and smiled as she moved back to the window and closed it, ensuring she latched it afterwards. Although the four of them had been extremely childlike, it warmed her throughout her entire body that thirty something years of growing up together wasn't changed a bit by four years apart. Not that that was possible of course. She knew in the back of her mind that no matter where they were, and what they were doing - the four of them would always have that bond they'd developed over the years and would be there for one another. On her flight from Denver to Montana, she'd became overly conscious of the fact that she had been all the across the country in New York; and she'd wondered that maybe something would feel different once they all got together again... She'd been_ so_ wrong.

Four years ago she'd been so ready to leave her small town and never look back, and while she didn't regret moving so far away, coming back to her roots made her realise how much she missed the days of her childhood as the years flew by. Her hand fell to her stomach and she let out a contented sigh. She'd grown up good, she'd grown up slow and she had been surrounded by strong love her entire childhood and silently, she promised her daughter that she'd have the exact same upbringing. One because she wanted that bond between her children with Danny that she shared with her own siblings, two, she knew that Danny wanted their children to have a tight bond like he and Louie had had, and three - neither of them knew any different.

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**Abrupt ending, I know, and I really dislike it, but honestly, there was so many different versions of the ending I'm at the point now where it's becoming tasking, and that's not fun - so I'm posting it as it is, and letting it be done. I'm hoping the rest of the chapter makes up for the ending. **

**Thanks for reading - if you would, drop me a line and let me know what you thought. I'd really appreciate it! :) **


	50. Love Letters

**A/N: Greetings from Newark, NJ. I'm currently en-route back to England. *round of sighs*. I had intended on updating yesterday, but I hated what I had come up with (I blame the whole leaving blahhhh-ness), so I scrapped it and started fresh. And let me tell you, the fresh? SOOOO much better. Fred made good judgement! *hugs Fred* **

**This chapter is dedicated to crazymoo97 for sending me a lovely email with some song suggestions weeks and weeks ago. This one materialised from one of the songs you suggested, so I hope you like what Fred and I came up with! :] **

**As usual, thank you to every single one of you who took the time to read and an extra special one to those who reviewed too. I really appreciate the time you guys spend sending Fred and myself lots of love! hehe. ****We're keeping it short today because I still need to find my gate - so on that note - special thank you's go to: **Meggie, Lindsay1234, NothatRose, Dine89, afrozenheart412, bluelilyrose, moonqueen19, Meredith and Derek, saderia, countrygirl103, 18lzytwner, unlikelyRLshipper, messermonroeforever125 and brendanakai** - you guys are amazing!**

**Love Letters – Alison Moyet**

_Love letters straight from your heart; keep us so near while apart._

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Running his fingers through his hair as he rid his locks of the last remnants of his shampoo, Danny let out a disheartened sigh. He'd been late to work that morning, earning a reaming from Mac about him already letting Lindsay's absence affect his work. Her leaving wasn't affecting his work... It wasn't.

Was it?

No. No it wasn't. All that had happened that at some point during the alarm going off, and then the snooze setting going off - instead of simply switching it off, Danny had knocked it to the floor in a heap and then stood on it for good measure as he jumped out of bed after realising what he'd done.

He'd then checked his phone for the time and realised that he was a few minutes late.

...well, if sixty minutes was considered as a few.

He'd overslept. Big deal. He wasn't the first, and wouldn't be the last. And it kind of blew that Mac had... Running his hands over his face underneath the water, Danny let out a growl. So yes. _Maybe_ Lindsay leaving to go to Montana was affecting him, but that was only to be expected, correct? She was his wife – and new wife at that. He was more than in his right to be a little out of whack while he adjusted – because not only had she left, but she'd taken their baby with her.

He was well in his own right to have his –Danny-Messer-freak-out- before he buckled down and got on with things.

He stood under the water for a few more minutes as he reminisced about the night before Lindsay left – he'd tugged her into the shower with him and she'd been brave enough to bare all, despite being overly conscious of her changed physique. He'd taken what seemed like hours as he covered her entire body with her body-wash: his fingertips memorising her every curve as he massaged it into her skin and then he'd rinsed her off - effectively bringing tears to her eyes at his actions.

He'd then turned to stop the flow of water, satisified with the moment they'd shared together, until her delicate fingertips ran themselves across his shoulder, bringing his attention back to her. He questioned her with his eyes – wondering what she wanted, and she'd answered with a kiss to his lips. She'd wrapped her arms around his neck, drawing him as close as physically possible. And there they had stood; tangled in each other's arms and quite content on no oxygen at all until the water had run cold.

He revelled in the memory that she'd left him with – and it was extremely bittersweet. He knew she'd cast aside her own insecurities, despite his insistence that she was beautiful no matter what she looked like.

He smiled to himself as he switched the shower off and quickly wrapped a towel around his waist. He glanced at the mirror and furrowed his brow as he saw a message in the condensation. _I love you. _

"Love you too, baby." He smiled at Lindsay's little message she'd left him.

Ignoring the droplets falling from his defined stomach, he grabbed his boxers and slid them on before padding out into the hallway and heading to the kitchen in search of something to eat and drink.

Rifling through the relatively full cupboards that Lindsay had left him with, he decided on a sandwich and a girly diet coke - that although Lindsay wasn't drinking – bought anyway. Creature of habit? Danny figured so with a smile.

He shut the fridge and his attention was drawn to a sealed envelope pinned up by a cheesy New York City fridge magnet Lindsay had insisting buying years upon years ago.

He dropped everything on the counter and turned back to the envelope as he analysed it. It was in Lindsay's writing – which made no sense. He'd been in and out of the fridge... his thought process trailed off. He hadn't looked in the fridge since Lindsay had left. When he'd arrived home from dropping her off, he'd just dumped himself on the couch and hadn't bothered eating anything, and this morning he'd been too late to eat or drink a thing.

He excitedly grabbed the letter and ripped it open and pulled it from the envelope and began to read.

_Dear Danny,_

_I'm not good at long goodbyes, or short ones for that matter- wait... I'm having a déjà vu. ;)_

_Point of the letter: the last time I went to Montana I left you a little 'you're in my thoughts' card, and there was just something inside of me niggling and wanting to leave you something else this time. I didn't have the time to run out and grab a card. (not that I run anywhere nowadays!) so, legal paper will have to do. :) _

_So. Letter. _

_The past few days have been amazing and I want you to know how special they've been to me. Although far from conventional and traditional, there's no other way I would have wanted it – except for maybe not leaving state on my own... perhaps we didn't think that one through too well... _

He tore his eyes away from the letter and let out a chuckle. They weren't ones for having good timing. But what did timing matter – all he cared about was that Lindsay was his wife. When or where they said 'I do' didn't matter. So what if she was now gone for two weeks. Two weeks in the grand scheme of things was nothing.

He cast his eyes back down to her cursive writing and smiled as his eyes absorbed her words.

_When I met you I had no idea how important you were going to be to me. I never, ever thought I'd find everything I have in you – especially considering how mean you were to me to begin with. Jackass! ;) (I love you really!) But all those years we waited and danced around each other makes this so much more special and it all means so much more to me because you're finally mine... and I'm yours. _

_Something you might not know and will surely get a kick out of – every now and then I pinch myself to make sure I'm not in a dream– I think one time you even caught me doing it and I'm sure you thought I was crazy, but you didn't say a thing and just shook your head at me pinching myself as if it was completely normal. And that's what I love about you. I love that __you know all my mistakes and weaknesses and stupid little things but you still find me completely amazing. _

_You're the greatest thing in my life right now, and I'm so glad we took the leap that we did. I'm so glad I trusted you. _

_These two weeks are going to be hell, and a little teeny tiny bit of me hates you for making me go (without you), but the rest of me loves you for putting aside what I know __you__ really wanted and did what you thought was right. There's only one person I can think of that would do that – and that's you. _

_I love you Danny._

_Love,_

_Montana._

Suddenly, he found that he had lost his appetite as he swiped away a stray tear.

"Damn it, Montana," he sighed as he reached for the land-line and dialled her number from memory. He leant against the counter as he swiped away another tear with the back of his hand while he held the letter in the same hand.

"Hey... Danny! I was just thinkin' about you."

"You made me cry!"

She let out one of her giggles that warmed his heart. It was like a confused yet amused giggle. "I did what? I made you cry? How..."

"I found your stupid love letter. Well, it wasn't stupid... It wasn't stupid at all... it was really sweet, but it... it just..."

"I miss you too, baby."

"I was late to work today."

"What?" She gasped. "Why?"

"I overslept," he blushed as he held the phone to his ear and opened the can of coke on the counter.

"Why though? How could you oversleep? That alarm goes off about fifty times. And gets louder each time, baby..."

"I smashed the alarm clock. We need a new one."

"Oh Dan," she giggled and then. "I miss you,"

"I miss you too, baby girl. This whole you being there and me being here sucks."

"But it's only thirteen days now."

"True," he sighed. "Thirteen days too many though."

"I wish you could just blow work off. I'd love for you to be here."

"I'd love to be there." He sighed as he took a sip of his drink. "I'd really love to be there right now."

"Guess what Haley and I did today..."

Danny smiled as he pulled himself up onto the counter as he listened to the recount of Lindsay and Haley slinging marbles at her two brothers.

The love letter had done its job in bringing them closer together when they were far apart – and as much as he would treasure the letter – he was counting down the minutes until she came back. And as he listened to her giggling on the other end about a tale she was struggling to retell from her giggles, he silently vowed and declared he was never, ever letting her go anywhere without him ever again.

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**So, that's it for now at least. Must dash to find my pilot and have him get a wiggle on now... and I probably need to find my gate, so I hope you liked this one. Any feedback and comments you feel you'd quite like to leave would be much a appreciated present when I get home! hehehe. :) Thanks for reading!**


	51. Everything

**A/N: Hi guys! First of all – thank you for all of the flight wishes (flight wishes? What...?) The flight was surprisingly enjoyable – they've done wonders with the in-flight entertainment! However... Continental, if you're going to give me two episodes of CSI:NY you DO NOT UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES pick TWO episodes WITHOUT Lindsay. That is unacceptable behaviour and you should therefore have a discussion at your next board meeting to fix this EPIC error in judgement. What the juice were you thinking choosing two episodes without Lindsay? FAIL... BIG. FAT. FAIL. **

**Now... this chapter here is really a filler chapter in that I really, REALLY want to get to the next chapter, but wanted to do a few things before that. So enter this chapter. (honest, I have EPIC things planned for the next few chapters). Not to take anything away from this chapter though - it still is a little chapter in it's own right! I think it's just cause the next chapter uses one of my all time favourite songs so I'm excited to get to that!**

**In the meantime though I hope you guys enjoy this one. I know it flip-flops a little, but that's what Fred was offering, and I wasn't going to not take it. LOL**

**Webdlfan - as you requested. A little insight into a certain something. :] **

**As ever, I'd like to take the chance to offer my huge thank you to everyone who read – and then an even bigger thank you to those who reviewed! They were a lovely present to read on my new Blackberry when I got home! :]**

**So – special mentions to:** Dine89, crazymoo97, webdlfan, NothatRose, messermonroeforever125, Lindsay1234, afrozenheart412, Aveo amacus, 18lzytwner, brendanakai, saderia, 6, ZoeyBug, unlikelyRLshipper and bluelilyrose.

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**Set during the episode 5x18 - Point of No Return**

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**Everything – Lifehouse**

_You are the strength that keeps me walking. You are the hope that keeps me trusting. You are the light to my soul. You are my purpose...you're everything._

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_

"What are you wearing?"

A giggle sounded down the line before a very serious "... nothing," sounded in Danny's ear.

"Liar." Danny smirked down the line as he settled in his desk chair. "The giggle sells you out."

"Wanna bet?" Her voice was teasing as she tried to suppress her giggle. "I just stepped out of the shower so I'm all wet too."

"Whatever," he chuckled as he settled his converse-clad feet on the wooden beam that supported his and Lindsay's desks and kept them connected. "How you doin' sweetheart? How's the baby?"

"The baby? She's fine. I on the other hand feel like a whale."

"Aww honey," Danny chuckled. "But jus' remember why you look like a whale."

"Danny!" Lindsay cried down the line. "You think I look like a whale? I... why would you say that?"

"You just said... never mind." He sighed, trying to back-paddle on the direction the conversation was going. "I miss you."

"Ugh."

"Attractive," he smirked as he began flicking through a case-file. "S'the matter?"

"I just got a text from Haley."

"Oh right? How's she doin'?"

"Fine." Lindsay grumbled. "Bitch."

"Whoa... that's language I don't expect to hear outta you, Montana. What's the problem?"

"Her and I had plans," She whined into the receiver. "But Nathan got the day off for some reason so they're off making babies."

"Makin' babies?" Danny inquired, slightly disturbed by the mental image.

"She's getting broody I think," Lindsay began to explain. "My mom has thrust so many parental magazines and Mother and Baby into her face over the past eight months I think she's warmed up to the idea... not to mention her seein' me buying cute little outfits has sent her biological clock into overdrive."

"So hence the makin' babies comment."

"Yup." Lindsay sighed.

"Well, what about your brothers? Surely they'd take pity on their baby sis and entertain you, no?"

"I wish! Brad's actually at work for once. Kyle is doing his own thing, which leaves me bored out of my freaking mind!"

"Whatever they're doin' won't take all day though, sweetheart. And trust me, whatever Haley and Nathan are doin' won't last more than fifteen minutes, so she'll text you again soon enough."

Silence rung on the phone for a few seconds which made Danny inquire about his wife's quietness. "Linds?"

"That was an image I didn't need." She responded in a low tone.

"How'd you think they'd make a baby Linds?"

"I had this conversation with her already... she got creeped out, and now it's my turn apparently."

"Alright then," Danny smirked as he flipped the page of his case-file so it looked like to a passerby he wasn't completely blowing off his responsibilities while on shift as he spoke to Lindsay. "What about your Mom and Dad?"

"UGH!"

"Ugh?" Danny smirked at her annoyance. "Why ugh?"

"My dad's protectiveness came in handy when Brad, Hales and Kyle were screwing around with me, but now it's getting old. He's more protective than you!"

"Get outta here." Danny chuckled in disbelief. "I don't believe that for a second."

"And my Mom... well, she's trying, but it's still hard to deal with the constant, 'Lindsay, come here and look at this,' thing she's got going on. She doesn't quite get that once I'm sat down; I don't feel like getting my ass up to see some crappy little crock-pot recipe."

"You know what it sounds like – like you're back from college and having to try and adjust from having all the freedom in the world to having rules and boundaries."

"And a curfew," Lindsay added.

"Curfew, where the fuck have you been going? What time is your curfew?"

"You'll love this. Six-thirty."

"What the fuck?... in the morning? Or at night."

"At night, Danny. They don't want me out by myself at all. I'm going crazy, Danny. Crazy!"

"Find something to do..."

"There is nothing to do."

"There has to be _something_ to do."

"_There. Is. Nothing. To. Do_." She growled at him, annunciating each word dramatically.

Danny glanced up to catch Mac striding towards the office. "Babe, I gotta go, but I'll call you back in like ten, k?"

Sighing, Lindsay accepted the end to the phone-call and glanced around her surroundings as she sat on the porch. Narrowing her eyes, she saw something in the distance.

"Maybe there is something to do after all..."

* * *

"_I didn't kill my wife."_

It was a sentence that tugged on Danny's heart strings. And God did it tug hard.

Running his fingers through his hair, Danny let out a long laboured sigh. When Mac had asked him to head to a scene with Flack, Hawkes and himself, the last thing Danny had expected was to see Anabel Pino as their DOA.

Marty Pino could not, and would not kill his wife.

He just wouldn't. Danny knew the guy. He knew how much Anabel meant to him. Marty had been the one person Danny spoke about his relationship with Lindsay to – and Marty about Anabel. Initially, it'd been a way for Danny to mark his territory with Lindsay – letting Marty know that she was his, regardless of whether they were in a relationship or not... and Marty was so in love with his girlfriend, and then wife, that he had been completely clueless to Danny's caveman tendencies.

The 'player image' had been a front; for the both of them actually. Yes, Danny had been through a few girls in his time before Lindsay – no more than Flack or Hawkes though. And it was the same for Marty. He'd had his fair share... until he'd met Anabel. Anabel was Marty's Lindsay. She just brought something out in him that changed the person that Marty was. Just like Lindsay had with him.

He was convinced that Marty wouldn't do such a thing. Danny knew for an absolute fact that he would never, ever be able to harm a hair on Lindsay's head. He physically wouldn't have been able to do such a thing – and one thing he knew that Marty's love for his wife, was that it ran about as deep as his own love ran for Lindsay.

And no matter what circumstance he found himself in, he knew he'd never ever, _ever,_ be able to pull a trigger that faced Lindsay.

And that was why he was utterly convinced that Marty couldn't be their guy.

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Furrowing her brow, Lindsay glanced at her watch as she stood up from the little scene she'd constructed. It'd been three hours since Danny had said he'd call her in ten minutes. He'd obviously got sidetracked with something – and if he was still busy she could always leave a message, right?

She smiled to herself as she dialled his cell phone number and pressed the phone to her ear. It didn't ring many times before he answered.

"Hey babe... sorry about earlier," he apologised. "I got... caught up in something."

"It's okay," she smiled, her voice warm. "So guess what I did."

"What did you do?" He mused.

"I found a dead beaver by the stream. Guess what I decided to do!"

"What did you decide to do?" He asked, playing along with her as he let her excited enthusiasm cheer him up significantly.

"Process the crime scene."

"Process... the crime scene?" Danny snorted. "Babe, you're really bored, aren't you?"

"Just as a first glance I think there are some indentations in the stomach, which leads me to believe that it could be a crime!"

"Babe, you really need to get into like General Hospital or something - One Life To Live maybe? ... just something really trashy that'll numb your brain. You're meant to be takin' a break, not creatin' crime scenes. I'm sure they have CSI:Boston on Spike or something... if you're cravin' crime scenes so much watch that. You can laugh how they solve crimes in forty-two minutes..."

"Danny." She sighed heavily. "Just humour me. Don't be mean about my Beaver crime scene..."

Sighing, he shook his head and pushed away the pictures he had taken at the hotel room before turning them over. "I'm sorry babe; I just caught a tough case."

"Oh..." She trailed off. "Did I catch you at a bad time?"

"No, no..." He shook his head, despite her not being able to see him. "I really needed to talk to you actually. I miss you. A lot."

"I miss you too." She sighed. "What's going on with the case?"

"My case or your case?"

"Your case, smarty pants." She giggled. "I found no hits in the missing beaver's database so my case is at a dead end."

He chuckled before letting out a troubled sigh.

"Danny..."

"It's nothing." He shrugged her concern off; knowing that he couldn't tell her what was going on. Not yet at least. "Just one of those cases, ya'know?"

"Everything's okay though?"

"It'll be okay once we figure everything out. That's all."

"Are you sure?" She pressed, a little concerned.

"Positive." He tried to assure her, despite his own thoughts at the potential outcome of the case.

"You don't sound so positive, baby."

"I'll be fine." He assured her. "Don't worry about me, k? It's my job to worry about you. You are the one after all, making up crime scenes. What you do? Lose your mind?"

"I told you I was bored." She whined.

"Well, I'm glad you found somethin' to do, kiddo." He smiled. "It passed... three hours." Danny's eyes widened as he realised the time that had passed since he last spoke to Lindsay.

"Danny, if there's anything you need from me while you tackle this case, let me know okay? I might be in Montana, but I can still help you think things through and help you clear your head, you know?"

"I know," he assured her, "And that's what's keepin' me goin'... knowin' you're at the other end of the phone if I need ya."

"If you need me: use me," she insisted. "It's what I'm here for."

"I will." He promised.

"And Danny?" Her voice trailed off.

"Yeah babe?"

"I know you're stressed right now with the case, but promise me you won't do anything rash or silly, okay?"

"I'll keep my head screwed on, babe." He sighed at her concern, despite the fact she had no clue as to what was going on with Marty and Anabel. "I promise."

"I love you."

"I love you too." He smiled down the phone. "I better go, but I'll catch you later, sweetheart, k?"

"Okay... try not to let it get to you, okay?"

"I won't." He promised.

He ended the call on his cell-phone and let out a sigh as he turned over the pictures of Anabel, the foot impressions, the drug residue... everything.

He ran his fingers through his hair as he tried to make sense of it all.

How had Marty's everything crashed down around him so quickly? Things had gone from bad to worse for him not so long ago– but at the time that Danny had spoken to Marty, things had been pretty shitty for him too. Lindsay hadn't even been talking to him after what he'd done: but he'd managed to turn it around. It crushed him that his friend hadn't had the same luck as he had. Lindsay was the focus in his life. She gave him the strength to carry on when things got tough. She gave him hope that allowed him to keep trusting in people, despite the horrible things he saw day in, day out.

She was his everything – and just for Marty's sake, Danny hoped and prayed Marty hadn't done something to Anabel that he would regret.

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**I hope you liked the first of what I think will be two chapters. I absolutely loved what they did with the boys of the NY team in this case, hence why Fred might be holding onto it a little bit. As always, thoughts and comments are hugely appreciated :) **  
**Thanks for reading. **


	52. If I Were A Boy

**A/N: Hey guys! Well, this totally wasn't what I expected for the next chapter. Like, not in the slightest... like I had actually set myself on skimming over this bit just to get to my next planned chapter because I was so excited about the song, but I watched 5x18 after I had posted the last chapter and Fred was flailing, jumping around and absolutely insisted that I held off on my other chapter and let him do this. Granted, it works better and lays the groundwork for the next chapter, and I'm pretty freaking proud of it... but still. LOL. **

**As always it was lovely to hear from you guys - you're always so awesome with your feedback. I really appreciate the support and love you always send my way. ****Special thank you to: **Megan, dantana-balscofanxoxo, rhymenocerous, webdlfan, ioanhoratio, afrozenheart412, Dine89, 6, 18lzytwner and brendanakai.** Seriously, thanks to you all for taking the time to give me some feedback - Fred sends you huggles and cuppycakes!**

**Oh, as a warning for this chapter, Fred and I had a date with a bar of soap and his mouth after we finished writing this chapter... so prepare yourself for some language. Stupid angsty New Yorkers! **

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**Set just after the warehouse shootout in 5x18.**

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**If I Were a Boy – Beyonce**

_But you're just a boy; you don't understand how it feels to love a girl, someday you'll wish you were a better man. You don't listen to her and you don't care how it hurts... Until you lose the one you wanted, 'cause you've taken her for granted; and everything you had got destroyed. _

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Sitting back on his knees, Danny Messer let out a laboured breath. He'd just felt the last bit of life slip from Little Stevie - because of a bullet from his own department issued gun. And honestly? It wasn't a feeling he _ever_ wanted to feel _ever _again.

He shared a look with Mac Taylor and instantly Danny felt a feeling of guilt rising through him. Mac had specifically told him not to move from the Avalanche. And on top of that, he'd promised Lindsay that he wouldn't do anything rash or silly... engaging in a shoot-out with a convicted and wanted felon without a vest classified as both rash and silly he figured.

Silently he stood from where he'd be knelt and wiped the excess blood on his hands onto his shirt, desperate to get the blood from his hands. It wasn't that he didn't like the metaphor for Little Stevie's death on him, but more in that he didn't like the fact that he'd broken his promise to Lindsay and put himself in an extremely dangerous situation... oh and that his wedding band was caked and covered in blood.

Turning on his heel, Danny glanced up and cringed as he saw Flack's facial expression at the scene that faced him as he hung up with the emergency services. He could tell Flack was livid: he'd gone red with anger – something Danny rarely saw. A smirk or a shake of the head when he did something that wasn't exactly stand-up behaviour, yes... this whole livid and anger practically radiating from him? Not so much.

"Danny," Flack's tone was low and disappointed as Danny headed past him.

"Look, I don't need any of your third degree right now, k?"

"You apparently do..." Flack laughed coldly and sarcastically as he grabbed his friend's shoulder, stalling him from walking away. "What the fuck were you thinkin' man?"

"I was thinkin' I couldn't let him get away..."

"You didn't have a vest on, Danny."

"No shit, they pay you to be a detective for a reason don't they? Those observation skills you got goin' are pretty sharp..."

"You're such a fuckin' prick." Flack spat as he shoved Danny away from him. "Such a fuckin' prick!"

"Shove me again..." Danny threatened before squaring up in Flack's face. "For once would you keep your nose outta my business?"

"Alright, that's enough you two." Mac growled from where he was beginning to rise from his position on the floor. "Danny, make your way back to the lab and get cleaned up. Take the Avalanche and we'll discuss this later. I'll ride with you Flack."

"Fine." He shrugged simply, not wanting to argue otherwise. Quite frankly he wanted to get back to the lab and wash off every last drop of blood off of his clothing and hands... and if that meant getting away from Flack then that was even better.

He turned on his converse-clad heel and made his way through the deserted warehouse, trying to ignore all of the spent shell casings that lay on the floor. He held his breath as he made his way past his hiding place, not daring to look at the small cabinet that had effectively saved his life. He just couldn't look at it. He wanted to stay firm in that he hadn't made a rash decision like his conscious was telling him that he had.

"Danno, wait up."

Keeping his head fixed on his focus point, Danny continued on out of the warehouse, ignoring Flack's pleas for him to stop.

He let the breath go as he finally reached the exit and gasped for air as he did so. Trying to regain a proper rhythm to his breathing, he turned slightly and spied Flack hot on his tail. Not stopping, Danny continued on as he made his way towards the Avalanche.

"You just don't understand do you?" Flack sighed as he caught up with him and headed towards the truck in step to Danny's quick strides.

Biting his lip, Danny let out a frustrated sigh as he realised that his friend wasn't going to let this go. "Understand what Flack? What don't I understand oh-wise-one?"

Running his fingers through his greying hair, Flack looked at his friend with disbelief. "You promised her you wouldn't do shit like this Danny. When you put that ring on her finger you promised that you'd stick around... you can't be doin' shit like this anymore."

"What she doesn't know won't hurt her, k? No harm no foul."

"Are you fuckin' stupid? Are you seriously tellin' me you're not goin' to tell her what happened in there?"

"And worry her? Yeah..." Danny snorted in disgust at the mere thought. "Not happenin'."

"You haven't learnt a thing, have you?"

"And what do you mean by that?" Danny enquired as he stopped and folded his arms across his chest defensively.

"What do I mean by that? You didn't tell her about you pity fucking Rikki Sandoval but that don't mean she didn't get hurt, Danny."

"Why you gotta bring that up?" Danny spat. "That was one time and it was the biggest mistake I've ever made, alright? You ain't got no right to bring that shit up."

"Someone needs to." Flack reasoned. "You not tellin' her about this is just the same, Danny... if not worse. You were there... I wasn't... you know how close you were to gettin' shot. You seriously think she doesn't deserve to know? She's your wife Danny, she deserves to know."

"She doesn't need to know. There's a difference."

"What if this was her?" Flack pushed the conversation. "What would you do then? What if she didn't tell you how close she was to dying? How would you feel?"

"She wouldn't put herself in a situation like that... I wouldn't let her put herself in a situation like that."

"What makes you any different then?"

"Because him being dead," Danny gestured over Flack's shoulder into the warehouse where Little Stevie lay dead. "Means there's one less person she has to run into while she's out in the field..."

"That's a load of crap," Flack snorted. "You're dodging my question with your bullshit 'I love her so much' crap. I get it. You're madly in love with her, and Danno, I'm more than happy for you buddy, but you gotta seriously get with it and realise that she needs you and you can't be screwin' around like you used to."

"I know she needs me Flack, she needs me more than she's ever needed me before right now."

"So why did you just pull that in there?"

"Because..." Danny sighed as he ran his fingers through his hair. "I don't know alright?"

"We all wanna save the world, Danny. I get you, I know that you didn't want him to get away, but sometimes you've gotta step back and just let it go. We're not super-human. How many more near misses are you gonna have before you're put into a wheelchair... or worse and laid up in the morgue on one of Sid's slabs?"

"Look, I get it. I made a mistake... Next time there's someone runnin' in the opposite direction from the cops I'll turn my head the other way and let them go, alright?"

Flack bit his lip in frustration. "You know that's not what I'm sayin' here. Stop bein' so damn stubborn, alright? Hear me out Danny..."

"I've heard you out, Flack. I've heard you out time and time again."

"So why do you keep givin' me reasons to get into it with you?"

"That's just what I do." Danny shrugged. "What do you want me to say?..." After Flack's long pause, Danny shook his head. "Now if you don't mind?" He turned and strode towards the Avalanche, waiting for Flack to throw something else at him.

"Someday Danny, you'll stop wishin' you were a better guy and you'll actually be a better guy."

Danny rolled his eyes as he realised how well he knew Flack. "I'm tryin'... I'm workin' on it, k?" He threw over his shoulder.

"Try harder, Danny." Flack growled. "You don't listen to her. You don't take into consideration her feelings. You don't care about how the things you do hurt her, and how much they hurt her. You take her for granted; how much do you expect her to take from you?"

"Look, I appreciate your concern, but this really isn't your fight, alright? I made a mistake...k? A mistake... People make mistakes."

"How many mistakes are you gonna make though?" Flack implored. "If it's not Rikki, it's shyin' away from your feelings... if I were Linds, I would have left your ass a long fuckin' time ago. You think I don't know what went down a few months ago? It fuckin' tore her up, Danny. And it fuckin' tore me up not rippin' you a new one."

"What tore her up?" Danny pressed as white fused in front of his eyes. Flack was quickly pressing all the wrong buttons and he wasn't far from snapping.

"You've forgotten already?" Flack asked, sarcastically. "She told Jess. Well... no, she sobbed at Jess. Linds told her everythin' Danny... And there's only so much I can pretend not to hear. I've seen Lindsay Monroe cry twice Danny, and both those times was over somethin' you did to her. How much more do you think she will take before she calls it a day? Mother to your child or not... You don't realise it, but she's taken more shit off of you this past year than a person should have to take in an entire lifetime. You cheated, you got her pregnant, you made her feel like crap about falling pregnant... and then you marry her... and then you fuckin' nearly kill yourself. What the hell is your problem, Danny?"

"Look, what happened between us has got nothin' to do with you... If she told Jess then that's her choice, k? I didn't tell you for a reason. I know what I did was wrong and I made it up to her."

"That's my point, Danny... you shouldn't have to be makin' things up to her constantly."

"Well that's what I do okay? I fuck up. It's in my name. Messer... I mess things up."

"That's bullshit and you know it. You just need your head screwing on tighter than what it is."

Danny kicked a crushed bottle away from him in frustration.

"Don't you realise what you have with her, Dan?"

"Are we done here?" Danny sighed.

"No!" Flack growled as he pressed his friend into the truck. "You're not leavin' until you listen to me."

"What more do you have to say to me, Flack? You haven't bitched me out enough?"

"Fine. Go, I'm just doin' what needs to be done. As much as you're my friend Danny, Lindsay means a hell of a lot to me and it pisses me off to see you treatin' her like this."

"I'm not treatin' her like anythin'. Mind your own business Flack. I made a fuckin' mistake. I shouldn't have gone after the guy. I don't intend on doin' it again."

"I hope you don't. Tellin' Lindsay that you got shot is not a call I want to make, Danny. Please don't put me in that situation."

"Look, I have some shit I need to do."

"Like tell Lindsay?" Flack asked hopefully.

"No, and even if I was, it'd be the last thing on my list. I'm not tellin' her what went down, k? I know how it'd go down, and trust me, it wouldn't be good."

"So you're going to lie to her?" Flack pressed.

"No..." Danny growled as leant against the Avalanche. "I'm just not goin' to tell her everythin'."

"So you're starting your marriage by keeping secrets?" Flack shook his head. "You have no idea what you have with her, do you?"

"She's in Montana, Flack. Montana! She's eight months pregnant and I am not, and will not put any more stress on her than what's absolutely necessary, k? I'm not doin' it."

"I understand that, Danny. I do... but just think about how hurt she would be if she found out before you had the chance to tell her. You saw the look in her eyes when she put two and two together about Rikki... do you want that feelin' again?"

"She'll understand why."

"She will?"

"I hopefully won't have to find out." Danny shrugged.

"You're settin' yourself up for a fall, Danno."

"So what do you suggest then? Considerin' your feel of all this wisdom and knowledge..."

"Stop taking her for granted for starters." Flack began. "And maybe realise that it's not just you in this relationship. You have an amazing girl and a kid on the way. They need you, and the last thing they deserve is for you to be doin' shit like this behind their backs."

"I know that, man! I know!"

"You need to reassess what you think the most important things are in your relationship. If honesty and trust aren't at the top of that list then maybe you need to have yourself a sit down and figure out why."

Danny ran his fingers over his face, extremely frustrated with Flack's constant tirade. "Why are you makin' such a big deal out of this?"

"Because you're not!" Flack implored. "Mac ain't either... but he's probably used to you doin' shit like this."

"That's not fair," Danny shook his head. "That was low and uncalled for."

"Well I need _something_ to open your eyes, Danny. Nothin' else seems to be workin'. Your relationship with Lindsay ain't workin'... me mentioning your kid ain't workin'... so maybe pulling out the Mac card will get somethin' inside that thick head of yours movin' and thinkin'."

"Look, I'm done here."

"Just think about what I said, k?"

"Fine." Danny sighed as he ripped open the Avalanche and thrust the keys into the ignition. He watched as Flack turned and stormed off into the warehouse. He put the car into drive and turned the radio up, trying to calm himself.

He'd thought about everything Flack had said to him... And there was no way in hell he was going to tell Lindsay how much of a fuck up he was. He just couldn't.

What she didn't know, couldn't and wouldn't hurt her.

Could it?

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**A bit of angsty bromance for you all there. As you all know I have this insane addiction to filling in the blanks and this episode just sends Fred and I into a frenzy with all the things that wasn't said... What I would have given to see _someone_ bitch Danny out for being a silly boy... well, it wouldn't have been much, trust me... a few pennies maybe? but still. hahah. **

**Anyway, I hope you liked what Fred and I came up with this time round - let us know what you thought. We'd really appreciate it :) **

**And thanks for reading! **


	53. The Truth

**A/N: Hey guys! Like I said in my other diary entries this song is one of my all-time favourite songs. I'm a little bit of an American Idol junkie it seems (my two favourite artists are Carrie Underwood, David Cook and then there's Kris Allen that I'm quite fond of... I see a pattern...) I think this little gem is just the most epic of songs... and is actually perfect for Danny in one of the many situations he's found himself in. Like the chorus has his name on it somewhere, I'm sure of it.**

**Of course, mentions and hats off to Megan for shoving me in the direction of this song – you made mine and Kendall's summer extremely musical with this song on repeat! Heheh. I even think I caught my Dad humming it at one point.**

**Now without further adieu (because I am SUPER excited for this chapter), I demand everyone go to YouTube and listen to this song. Please? Pretty please? I've honestly had it on repeat for the last four months. hahaha. **

**Now, special thank you to those amazing folks that read, and an even bigger one to those who also reviewed. You guys are incredible. I don't know how or when or when my review count creeped all the way to like 880... well, 886 at the minute. And for 52 chapters? You guys... wow! I don't know what to say, I really don't - thank you all SOOOO much. Hugs to: **Dine89, Bob (lol), messermonroeforever125, Lindsay1234, lindsaymesser1fan, saderia, afrozenheart412, brendanakai, rapidtetv, 18lzytwner, iheartcsinewyork and unlikelyRLshipper.

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**The Truth – Kris Allen, ft. Pat Monahan**

_Tryin' to be perfect. Tryin' not to let you down. Honesty is honestly the hardest thing for me right now... While the floors underneath our feet are crumblin', the walls we built together tumblin'__. __I still stand here holdin' up the roof. Cause it's easier than telling the truth._

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"I thought you said nothing happened today. The 'same old, same old' you said! You lied! You _lied_ to me!"

Taking the phone away from his ear, he glanced at the caller ID, wanting to check to make sure it was his wife on the other end, because while it sounded like her vocally, her high pitched screech confused him a little.

Suddenly, it dawned on him.

She knew.

Fuck.

"_Hello_?"

"Hi to you too." He teased good-naturedly, trying to lighten her mood as he sensed she had found out that he had done what he did and was therefore in for the reaming of his life.

"I thought you said nothing happened today." She repeated.

Furrowing his brow, Danny licked his lips. Flack was fucking dead. Calling his wife behind his back and telling her. Who the fuck did he think he was? "Nothing did." He lied; his heart was still hammering in his chest from the adrenaline pumping through his body. "Same old, same old. Why?"

"Oh right? Why did I just see Marty Pino on the news?"

Danny's heart was going from one extreme to the other: hammering in his chest to stopping completely. "You... you did?"

"Yeah, it's funny actually."

"What is?"

"The fact that you were there too." The tone of Lindsay's voice told Danny she didn't find it all that funny. "Hales choked on her drink when she saw you."

"I... I was?" He stammered, mentally cursing the news teams that had raced to report the breaking news of the ex-ME murdering addicts and harvesting organs to create heroin. Usually he was pretty good at dodging the news teams; but tonight – the entire team had been too shaken from the day's events to even care about the news crews.

"Yeah, fancy that... So, are you going to tell me what actually happened? Or shall I catch the eleven o'clock?"

"How much did you see?"

"Well, I saw you and a mug shot of Marty, which got my heart racing... but then I saw your academy picture flash across the screen, _and only yours_, that's all I needed to see. Do I need to tune into the story?"

"No... Don't catch the eleven o'clock." He stumbled over his words. "Lindsay, please."

"What happened today, Danny?"

Licking his lips he closed his eyes. "Nothing happened."

"Nothing happened." She repeated, hurt and annoyance in her voice. "Nothing... Right, sure. I wasn't born yesterday, Danny."

"Linds... come on, this isn't..."

"Say healthy for me and I'll catch the next flight home to kill you! I'll completely skip kicking your ass and go straight to killing you!" She shrieked at him, and although he highly doubted it; a part of him wondered whether she was actually being serious about it.

"I wasn't going to say that..." He began to lie. "I was going to say that this isn't how I wanted to spend my nightly phone call with ya."

"Bullshit!" she growled. "You were so going to say it isn't healthy."

"Well yeah because the last thing I wanted was to worry ya," he admitted. "But Linds, it's over now and there's nothing we can do about the past. I'm safe and that's all that matters."

"What do you mean safe?" she zoned in on what he said; sensing he was holding something back. "Did something else happen? Is that why they showed your academy picture?"

Letting out a sigh, Danny ran his fingertips through his hair before dragging his hand down his face. He knew Flack had been right – Lindsay did deserve to know what he'd done, and honestly he wanted to tell her about his stupid decision. He didn't want to _lie _to her, but the truth right now was inaccessible to him. He couldn't. Not when she was there and he was...

"Danny!"

"I can't Linds. I can't tell you."

"You know for a damn fact that was the wrong answer, Daniel."

"But it's the only answer I have, babe."

"Danny, what happened?" Her voice was beginning to break and he sensed tears were near for her. "What happened today that you're not telling me?"

"Lindsay. No, alright? No... You don't need to know. I'm not telling you what happened."

"Why?"

"Because."

"Because isn't a reason."

"Why isn't a question." Danny countered. "Lindsay, please."

"Why are you being so damn awkward and stubborn? _What aren't you telling me?_" she cried in exasperation.

"You don't need to know!"

"Why? Why are you being like this with me?" He could practically hear the tears dripping down her cheeks and it broke his heart – but it also fuelled his fire.

"Why? I'm tryin' to be perfect and I'm tryin' not to let you down, and I know that if I tell you, you're gonna be disappointed."

"Please Danny. Please tell me what happened."

"I promised you though Linds, I don't want to break that promise I made to you."

"Danny, I don't care if you broke a promise, just tell me the truth. I don't care what it is; I'm not going to be mad - I promise."

"I can't Linds... not this."

"What happened? You're really scaring me, Danny."

Hearing the gun shots from Little Stevie's gun ringing in his ears Danny swallowed and suppressed the feelings within him. He didn't want to share what he'd been through with her because he knew she'd only worry... But in the same breath, he wanted to tell her everything. He wanted to her to know. He wanted her to yell at him for being stupid just like Flack had done earlier. He just didn't want to hurt her in the process.

"I'm not telling you because it's easier than telling you the truth. You know I don't want to keep things from you, but I don't want to let you down Linds."

"You're letting me down by keeping things from me, Danny. I need you to trust me just as much as you need me to trust you. What happened today?"

"It's not good, Linds."

"Well I wasn't thinking you found a pot of gold underneath a rainbow being guarded by a unicorn, Danny."

"Smartass." He chuckled despite their current situation.

"Danny, contrary to what you might think; I'm not messing here. You really need to tell me what happened because I'm freaking out right now."

"I'm scared that you're goin' to regret marryin' me."

"Right now I am." She growled. "You keeping this from me isn't exactly reassuring, you know? You better start talking."

He took a breath as an attempt to prepare himself for what he was about to share with his wife. "I made a decision today that wasn't one I'm proud of."

He could hear Lindsay swallow on the other end of the line. "Okay..."

"I apprehended a suspect without a vest on."

"Well, that isn't the first time you've done that." Lindsay made an observation. "So that means something else happened..."

"He might have been armed... and I might have killed him."

"How armed was he?" Her voice was cautious and wary of where Danny was taking the conversation.

"AK-47 armed, I think... I didn't really look. I just knew I had to get out of there alive."

"We're doing this over the phone." She commentated to no-one in particular, her voice raising a few octaves as she did so; indicating tears and emotions were taking over. "We're seriously doing this over the phone."

"How else would you like us to do it, Lindsay? I didn't want to do this at all!" Danny snapped. "You're one thousand, seven hundred and sixty three miles away, so what? Want me to get my ass on Skype and we carry on in front of a pixelated screen?"

"Fuck you Danny... Just, fuck you!"

Danny's heart dropped as he heard her hang up.

Well, they'd lasted what – barely a week before having their first marital fight. Three of which she hadn't even been in the same time zone for.

"Fuck my life," he scowled to the quiet apartment. Squeezing the phone in his hand, Danny threw his cell phone across the living room, letting it smash against the wall.

He hated his fucking job.

Well, he didn't. He loved his job. But he hated the risk and he hated the constant danger he put himself in. He hated the rash decisions he insisted on making. And, most of all, he hated doing _this_ to Lindsay.

He stood up and kicked the leg of the coffee table viciously before scooping up his BlackBerry and reassembling the battery within it and switched it on.

He'd approached this topic all wrong.

For once in his life – he should have listened to Flack. Smug bastard would love that confession – but he'd been right in everything he had said to Danny. Danny was just too damn stubborn and proud to accept the fact that Flack was right.

He waited for his phone to become accustomed to it's on status before re-dialling Lindsay's number, trying to bring her around to talk to him.

It rang a few times more than normal before her wary voice answered with a meek "hello".

"Baby..." he sighed. "Baby, I'm sorry."

"Why Danny? Why'd you do it?"

"I wasn't thinkin'. Like I had Mac in the back of my mind tellin' me he'd told me not to get involved. And then I had the promise I made you of keepin' my head screwed on-"

"Wait." She cut him off sharply. "Mac told you not to get involved?"

"Yeah... because I didn't have my vest."

"But you got involved anyway? Have you lost your fucking mind?" She bellowed down the line, making Danny's back snap upright.

"Linds..."

"A shootout with no vest; what the fuck was you thinking? After Mac told you not to as well... The last thing we need right now is for you to piss our boss off. Completely disregarding the fact you could have gotten yourself _killed_! Christ Almighty, Danny... Did I pack your brains with me? What the hell were you thinking?"

"Linds, babe. Calm down."

"Calm down? Danny, what were you thinking?"

"I wasn't, alright?" He spat. "I didn't think until I was sat behind some metal cabinet freaking the fuck out."

"You're an absolute idiot." She growled. "Do you have any idea how stupid you were?"

"Oh believe me Linds, I know. I know baby."

"What were you thinking, Danny?"

"When I was sat there I was thinking that I'd only just got you and I nearly let you lose me when I know how much you need me. I couldn't help but picture our baby's face, not understanding why I wasn't there on Daddy's day at school... Not understanding why he or she had to go visit my grave every August for my birthday... I couldn't bear the thought of you doing it alone."

"I didn't mean that."

"Oh." Danny muttered; a little embarrassed of his innermost thoughts he'd said out-loud. "Well, I wasn't thinking. I just didn't want him to get away."

"Danny," Lindsay sighed, "sometimes you just have to draw the line and accept that sometimes the bad guy gets away. You know we always get them eventually. It wasn't on you to get him and you shouldn't have taken it upon yourself. You're not just you anymore. You're part of an us now. You're a husband. I'm your wife and I need you alive. Your child needs you alive."

"I know that, babe. When I shot him, I shot him for us... I didn't want to miss out on the life we deserve together."

"Oh how fucking noble of you, Danny." She continued to curse, showing how truly stressed and upset she was with him. "Let's call the mayor up and get you a fucking medal. I'm so unbelievably proud." Her voice was dripping with sarcasm. "And if that hadn't have worked, it would have been just wonderful to tell our child that her father had shot some guy for us, but got shot and died in the process."

"Baby... please. I know you're mad and upset with me."

"No you don't." She whispered down the line with venom in her tone. "You don't know how mad and upset I am with you."

"I just... I really miss you and I really don't want to talk about this."

"You don't get to make that choice Danny. We need to talk about this."

"Why?"

"Because I'm nearly two thousand fucking miles away and you decide to... I can't even say it! Did this happen before or after the thing with Marty and the drug bust?"

"Before..." He sighed, realising he wasn't going to win in his battle to get Lindsay to drop the topic.

The silence rung in Danny's ears and it unnerved him.

"Linds..."

"Was it before or after I called you."

He winced; her tone indicating she wasn't going to be at all impressed with his answer.

_Shoulda gone with Flack_ he thought to himself.

"Danny..." She pressed.

He closed his eyes, preparing himself for her verbal tirade at his stupidity and betrayal in what he'd promised her. "Before ."

"So..." She began slowly and calmly; effectively increasing Danny's heart rate. She was clearly building up to the main event and her calming demeanour was simply the calm before the storm. "When we were on the phone and you were out of breath, what was that exactly?"

He swallowed. The truth was what she needed. No more lies. "I'd just gotten back."

"From where?"

"The warehouse."

"The shootout?" she screeched. "You were talking to me... and you'd just... and you didn't..." She fell silent for a moment.

"Linds?" he pressed upon not hearing anything, his mind racing with possibilities and overly conscious of the stress he'd put on Lindsay over the past fifteen minutes.

"When I was talking to you, did you have blood on you?"

Glancing down to the now-clean wedding band on his left hand he bit his lip; trying to quickly think of the path he wanted to take. He could lie and save her the heartache of the symbol of his promise, love and devotion to her tainted with blood... or he could tell her the truth and be able to prove to her that although he made mistakes, he'd tell her the truth and accept the consequences regardless.

"No." He whispered, closing his eyes. _Wrong choice, Danny._ He thought to himself.

"Promise me."

Biting his lip, he closed his eyes, trying to fight the tears. He just couldn't fucking help himself, could he?_ "_I promise."

"_Liar._" She whispered. "I gave you a chance Danny. I gave you that chance then and you fucking lied."

"Linds... Please. I... I..."

"How am I supposed to trust you, Danny? You lie _all _the time."

Danny let out a puff of air. Hearing her say that, and the way in which she had said left him feeling like someone had just stabbed him in the chest. Twice. And had then twisted it a few times for good measure. "Lindsay, please..."

"You promised me." She sobbed.

"I didn't want you to get upset."

"Well I am! I am upset Danny. I'm fucking devastated and heartbroken!"

"Baby, please don't cry." He practically pleaded with her. "I'm trying Linds, I'm tryin' so hard to be perfect. I just... it's so hard."

"I don't want you to be perfect, Danny." She sniffled down the line, "I don't know where the fuck you got that from. I don't want you to be constantly afraid of letting me down. I want honesty! I want you to feel like you can tell me anything. The last thing I want is for you to _lie _to me. You nearly died today and all you can do is push me away and lie."

"Lindsay..."

"No!" She cried out. "You've said enough, you listen to me. I appreciate you trying to protect me, but I need you to be truthful Danny. I need to know I can trust you. You're not perfect, but that's what I love about you. I don't want you to change the person you are, I just want you to change the way you think."

"I'm trying. I don't know what you want me to be though. I don't want to let you and our kid down, Lindsay."

"I want you to be you." She cried. "That's all I want. I'm not stupid Danny; I know you'll put yourself in positions you're going to find it hard to get out of. I know you, better than you know yourself sometimes and I'm not going to pretend that you're going to make this sudden character change and not make rash decisions, because you will. But when you do, I need you to tell me the truth. I don't want you to; I _need_ you to, Danny."

"I just knew you were going to be stressed, Linds. I didn't want to let you down."

"You didn't let me down by doing what you did; you let me down by lying to me about it. I just want the truth. What does it say about our relationship if you can't confide in me?"

He just sighed.

"This lying to protect me has got to stop." She demanded. "I can't take it anymore! I thought we were at the stage in our _marriage_ where we could trust each other. We're married Danny. Husband and Wife, and we're already arguing about lying and trust? Give me strength."

"It's only because you're so far away. I'm conscious of the fact that if something happens; there's no way I'm going to be there on time. I thought if I gave you a call telling you I just nearly killed myself... I just couldn't do it. Lying was easier than telling you the truth, and I'm sorry Lindsay."

"Sorry isn't good enough, Danny... I'm losing the will to keep fighting you on this. You need to sit down with yourself to figure out whether you trust me enough to tell me things, or whether we need to work on a few things. We need to figure out whether we rushed into this... because if we did, we have some major issues to deal with."

"I know I need to think about some things... but please, baby, don't lose faith in me."

"I'll never lose faith in you; it's like a curse or something." Lindsay sighed.

"We didn't rush into this marriage." Danny continued. "You know we didn't, and it's my fault for makin' you feel that way."

"Danny, I'm serious... things need to change. You need to stop lying to me."

"I will." He assured her. "Just tell me that you understand why I didn't tell you straight up."

"I understand that it's killing you, the fact that I'm so far away and you hate the fact that there's nothing you can do to change that. I also understand that you're sorry for the mistake you made and I understand that you didn't want me to panic about you doing something like that." She paused. "It doesn't mean I have to like it though."

"But you understand where I was coming from? Why I did it? That I wasn't doing it to hurt you."

"I understand where you were coming from," She confirmed. "But I don't agree with the way you went about it, and it makes me furious that you think you have to lie to me to protect me."

"I know, and I'm sorry baby... I just, I couldn't see any other way."

"The truth Danny, the truth usually works."

"I'll have to try it sometime." He sighed, dejectedly.

"That's all I ask."

"One of these days, I'll surprise you and make you proud to call me your husband."

"Danny, what are you talking about?" Lindsay implored. "I'm proud to call you my husband every second of every day... You protected yourself with a handgun in a shoot out where the other guy had a machine gun, and you came out unscathed, didn't you?"

"Physically? Yeah... I guess."

"Exactly." Lindsay pointed out to him. "I don't know many other people that would have been able to do that. I know I probably wouldn't have."

"Lindsay..."

"Listen to me... I'm proud of you as a cop, I'm proud of you as a CSI, but most of all I'm proud to say you're my idiot husband who, although he makes absolutely ridiculous choices sometimes that I want to bash him over the head about, I love him _very_ much, and fortunately for you, nothing will ever change the way I feel about you."

"But Linds..."

"Don't 'but Linds' me, _listen_ to me... don't you ever think I'm not proud of you."

He sighed heavily.

"My only thing I'm asking of you is from now on I expect the truth and nothing but the truth. Do you understand me? No more bullshit. No more lying to protect me... I want the straight up, God's honest truth. We're a unit... we're going to be Mommy and Daddy and we need to set an example for our daughter... not to mention what lying does to us as a couple, Danny."

"Or son."

"Or son," Lindsay conceded. "If you promise me one thing in your life, promise me that. Right now."

"I promise." He whispered. "And this time, I _will_ keep this promise. No more lying to protect you. No more shying away. The truth and nothing but..."

"Thank you," she whispered. "So... do you need to talk about what happened today?"

Danny let out a breath as he straightened out on the couch and laid his head on the arm. "Yeah... Yeah I do, babe."

"Well, I'm all ears."

* * *

**Now, I really hope you guys like this chapter as much as I loved writing it. I've read it about 60 times (seriously) because I had it written about two or three months ago, so I've been tweaking it this whole time, so I'm super excited you guys can finally see it. I was so upset that we never found out whether Lindsay found out about what Danny got himself into - so I hope the route I went was plausible and you enjoyed. Any thoughts or comments are as ever hugely appreciated! **

**Thanks for reading and tuning in for the latest chapter! **


	54. Key to My Heart

**A/N: So, I don't know what in the world spurred me to write this (but when do I to be perfectly honest?). I had planned on not covering this particular episode, but then Fred was all, 'yo... that's not gonna fly.' And actually - quite surprisingly, I like this one: so I hope you guys like it too! **

**You all have no idea how much I loved the feedback I received from you lovely people last chapter. As I think I briefly mentioned (note my sarcasm, I must have mentioned it 499576 times!) that I was quite fond of the song, so obviously I was partial to it and the chapter that developed with the song. And to hear some of you (yes you, Caitlin, hehe!) who weren't particular Kris Allen fans, listen to him on repeat.. I have no idea why that makes me squee, but it does!**

**So, without further adieu, special thank you to those that of course read last chapter, but also those who reviewed too! You guys fill me with encouragement because seriously 903 reviews for 53 chapters? Wow! Just, wow. **

**Special hugs to:** rhymenocerous, iheartcsinewyork, Bob aha (lol), Lindsay1234, rapidetv, 18lzytwner, afrozenheart412, cklovesm-m, saderia, Dine89, 6, ioanhoratio, and last but definitely not least - unlikelyRLshipper.

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**To confirm, italics denote a flashback. (Yes, the majority of the chapter is in italics, but it just didn't seem right to leave it as normal font, sorry guys!) **

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**Key to My Heart – Jessica Jarrell**

_I don't wanna act a fool, don't wanna look confused. If I let you know about the way I feel don't know what you gonna do, so I keep it locked inside and imagine you were mine. And I'm feeling you so close but yet so far: you hold the key to my heart._

_

* * *

_

_"Is the father going to be here for this?"_

_Lindsay glanced up at the ultrasound tech with a surprising amount of venom in her eyes. She'd watched the trashy teen dramas where some poor character had found herself in the same situation as she'd recently found herself in; with the father no-where to be seen. And even though he didn't seem to be here, that question was still asked: "is the father going to be here for this?" Lindsay cleared her throat of the lump that had taken residence and bit out: "Don't you think he'd be here already if he was coming?"_

_"Sorry, I didn't..."_

_"Well, you did." Lindsay chided. "So if you don't mind I'd really like to get this over with, I have to get back to work."_

_The tech nodded and began to prep Lindsay for her second ultrasound._

_"You had to reschedule your last appointment, correct?" The tech asked as she quickly read Lindsay's patient file._

_"Yeah... I uh- got wrapped up at work and completely forgot about my appointment." Of course, Lindsay left out the part that after seeing Danny stood in the waiting room she'd been left with no courage to go back for her appointment she had already been late for. Seeing him had been too much of a shock. What she had handed Danny in the locker room was her first ultrasound picture. She carried her first scan around with her and subconsciously she knew why – it was so that on the off chance Danny found it on her person, it would save her from gathering up the courage to drop the bomb herself._

_The tech nodded in response to Lindsay; not completely satisfied with her reason but decided not to push it any further. She offered Lindsay a reassuring smile continued on with her work._

_Lindsay turned her head away from the technician and closed her eyes as she fought the tears that slid down her cheeks. She hadn't meant to snap at the poor woman, but she had really expected Danny to show up. Granted their relationship wasn't exactly solid, but she had hoped and prayed that he'd find it in him to turn up. She knew that it was a lot to deal with and he had a lot to think about, but she had thought that he was doing better with it. They'd talked over a week ago and things had appeared to be good between them – she just didn't realise how wrong she had been._

_She'd obviously made a huge mistake, letting him into her heart once again. Shame on him for fooling her once, but now – the shame was on her for letting him fool her twice. She'd trusted him. She'd trusted that he would change upon hearing that she was pregnant – that _they_ were pregnant. She thought he'd step up to the plate and bring it home... but apparently he'd hung his bat up and called it a day._

_They were so very close to what they could be – but upon closer inspection, they were so far from what they should be that it cancelled out everything that they would be, given half the chance._

_At least, that's what she told herself._

_The truth was, if he cornered her in the lab and he offered a lame apology about freaking out and not being able to make it or getting tied up in a case and not being able to take off, she'd plaster a fake smile across her face and insist it was okay – that she'd forgotten she'd asked him along to the appointment anyway. She'd probably even add in for him not to worry and there would always be next time. She hated herself for being that way, but she was helpless. He held the key to her heart and no matter how hard she tried to fight it, she simply couldn't. He could break her over and over again and then he'd be able to just let himself back in because she'd take him back every time. Granted each time it would get harder and she'd eventually get to a point where no more was no more... it was just a matter of how many times it would take until she called it a day._

_"Alright, now-"_

_A rushed knock at the door sounded at the examination room, bringing the technician to a stop._

_Lindsay's heart fluttered in her chest. She knew that knock, but a knock was a knock –and there was also six billion other people that could share the same knock as Danny._

_"I'm sorry," The tech apologised to Lindsay before glancing towards the doorway. "Come in."_

_"I'm sorry I'm late. I got held up on the subway."_

_Lindsay tore her eyes away from the screen where she'd fixed her eyes on and swiped away a tear as she stared at the person stood in the doorway. "What... what are you doing here?"_

_"Well, it's your second ultrasound appointment, is it not?" The thick New York accent chuckled as he shut the door behind him and moved to take a seat._

_"Yeah... but-"_

_"I said I would be here, didn't I?"_

_"Yeah but... when..." her voice trailed off, unable to voice her concerns._

_"I wouldn't have missed this for the world." Danny whispered as he took a seat next to Lindsay and tangled his fingers through her shaking ones. He then pressed a kiss to the top of her hand, and to finish off, he pressed a delicate kiss to her temple._

_The tech cleared her throat politely, gaining herself Danny's attention to which he turned and held his other hand out over Lindsay's stomach. "Hey, Danny Messer. I'm Lindsay's boyfriend and the baby Daddy." He finished with a smirk._

_The technician took Danny's hand and shook it firmly as a smile tugged at her lips; she then turned her attention back to the screen._

_"I didn't think you were going to come," Lindsay whispered as her fingers dug into Danny's hand as she buried her head into his chest. "I thought you'd changed your mind."_

_"I promised you I'd be here. I'm in this with you, Linds. I just got stuck on the subway... that's all. No second thoughts, no cold feet... I promised I'd be here and I'm here. You've gotta stop worryin'," Danny teased as he rested his chin on Lindsay's 'pillow', making sure he could see the screen from where he was positioned, but he was also as close to Lindsay as physically possible without actually mounting the 'bed'. "Those hormones are sendin' you crazy, baby."_

_"Maybe." She giggled in agreement as she swiped a stray tear away. "I'm so... I'm so glad you came."_

_"I told you, I wouldn't miss this for the world. I got a lot of makin' up to do... missing your second appointment wouldn't exactly be the best way to do that, would it?"_

_She let out a breath and turned her eyes to the screen, her hand still gripping Danny's._

_"Now, in a few seconds we should be able to hear your baby's heartbeat." The tech smiled before pressing a few buttons on the keyboard._

_Both Danny and Lindsay swallowed as they waited for the low rhythmic thump to sound in the room. Within seconds, they heard the first beat and both of them stopped breathing for a moment as they listened to the mesmerising sound fill the room._

_"That's it?" Danny asked in awe, his voice breaking from his emotion. "That's the baby's heartbeat?"_

_"Yup, and it sounds strong and healthy too. I'll leave you alone for a few minutes." The tech smiled as she rubbed Lindsay's hand as a silent way of expressing how happy she was for this young mother – and that there were no hard feelings from earlier. She then quickly headed out of the small examination room._

_"Oh my God." Danny whispered as he leant his forehead against Lindsay's temple. "Linds, that's... amazin'."_

_"It sounds strong," she giggled tearfully. "Right? That's what she said, strong and healthy, right?"_

_Danny simply nodded against her as he squeezed his eyes shut. Noticing his lack of verbal expression Lindsay craned her neck towards him a little. "Are you okay?"_

_"I'm so sorry I missed your first appointment." He whispered as he pressed a kiss to her cheek. "But I swear on my mother, I'm here by your side for everything else, alright sweetheart?"_

_"Don't make promises you can't keep." Lindsay whispered tearfully._

_"I don't make promises I can't keep." Danny assured her. "Not when it comes to you two."_

_Lindsay offered him a smile at the usage of "two". It encouraged her that he was willing to acknowledge the fact that there was now two people relying on him – and he was stepping up to both the role of father and supportive boyfriend._

_But it was only an offered smile. She still wasn't sold on his dedication._

_"What's on your mind?" He asked, sensing her hesitation._

_"Are you sure we're going to be able to handle this, Danny?" She whispered tearfully._

_"I don't have an ounce of doubt in my mind." He answered automatically. "You and I are perfect for this job, Montana. It's a surprise, considering... but I wouldn't have this any other way."_

_"I just..."_

_"You don't wanna get hurt again?" Danny sighed, sadly._

_She shook her head as the tears slipped down her cheek. "I don't know how much I can take. It crushed me when they called my name and you weren't here with me... I know you were on your way, but it just... it scared me Danny. I thought I was here alone."_

_He sighed heavily._

_"And I'm scared of telling you what I really feel because I don't know how you're going to react."_

_"Well why don't you try me?" Danny suggested. "Give me a chance?"_

_Lindsay chewed her lip for a moment as she listened to the steady heartbeat of her child, which effectively made her own heart skip a beat. "I know I told you that I could do this by myself..."_

_"But..." he prompted._

_"But I'm scared. I don't want to do it by myself. I really need you Danny, and I don't want to scare you, but I do... I need you."_

_"Oh baby," he whispered as he wrapped his arms around her head and pulled her towards him. "I'm here for you. You don't have to do this by yourself, baby. I promise." He assured her as he wiped away her tears with the pad of his thumb. "I'm here and I'm always gonna be here, k?"_

_"I just... I don't..."_

_"It's gonna take a while to get that trust back in me and I understand that babe, just give it time, k? There's no rush, I'm not goin' anywhere."_

_She nodded contemplatively._

_"I sense there's something else on your mind."_

_"There is." She admitted. "I feel... I feel we're so close to being something amazing, but there's just something holding us back... and that something is me."_

_"Well, what's holding you back?"_

_"You. Me. Us... Everything's happening so quickly I don't want to jump in head first. I don't know why I'm holding back because I've had plenty of time to wrap my head around this. I'm okay with having our baby; I just don't know how okay you are with me having your baby."_

_"Lindsay," Danny sighed as he pressed a kiss to their intertwined knuckles. "There's no-one else in this entire world I imagine myself having a baby with. Hell, until you came along I didn't imagine myself with a steady girlfriend... let alone a baby. There's no-one else in the entire world I would want a baby with. You're it for me, Lindsay. This is it for us."_

_She chewed her lip as she let his words register._

_"I know it's hard to trust me and anything I say right now Lindsay and I understand why you feel like that after everything that's happened, but I promise you I'm going to support you. I would have supported you in whatever decision you would have made..."_

_"There wasn't ever any other option, Danny. There was no decision to make. I was always going to have this baby, with or without you."_

_He pressed a kiss to her temple as an apology for ever putting her in a situation where she had to consider having his baby without his help. The kiss was weak but he knew for a fact that no words would express how much he hated himself for treating Lindsay in the way he had. _

_"You think she caught a vibe that we needed a few minutes to talk?" He teased after a few moments of silence between the two of them._

_"She's probably stitching her head back on from when I gnawed it off." Lindsay blushed. "I was kind of bitchy to her."_

_"You bit her head off?" Danny snorted. "You're a badass... what did ya do that for?"_

_"She asked me if you were coming, which honestly, it was a stupid question, because if you were coming you would have been in the room to begin with..."_

_"Except for the fact I was held up on the subway..."_

_"I didn't know that though." Lindsay defended herself. "So maybe I'm a little sensitive right now."_

_"Well," Danny smiled as he leant to her stomach and pressed a kiss to an area that wasn't covered in gel. "It's a good job I'm well versed in sensitive!Lindsay."_

_"You are?" She asked, tears springing to her eyes at the adorable action of him kissing her stomach._

_"Well, actually... can I get back to you about that in eight months?"_

_

* * *

_

"Linds..."

Blinking herself away from her reverie, Lindsay glanced up to her mother and sister. "Huh?"

"You went somewhere for a few minutes... everything okay? Doctor Scott asked you a question."

Lindsay turned and offered an apologetic smile to the Doctor. "Sorry..."

"Is the father going to be joining us today?"

"No, the father's not going to be here," she began. "He couldn't get away from work."

"Not to worry," the doctor smiled reassuringly. "We'll just make sure everything's okay here... you're quite the brave woman flying across the country in your eighth month, Miss Monroe."

"It's Mrs. Messer actually." Lindsay corrected, a proud smile plastered across her face. "But you know, brave, crazy... same difference."

"Got'cha," The doctor smiled. "Now, let's see here..."

Lindsay nodded as she shifted in the chair.

"That doesn't look too comfortable." Haley chuckled.

"You'd be surprised, it's actually quite comfy." Lindsay smirked as she settled in a position and then cringed a little as the cool gel sent shivers through her. "It's cold every time," she giggled. "And I know it's coming, but I always cringe."

"You're not the only one," Lindsay's temporary Doctor smiled. "My wife and I have had four kids, and even now she still cringes when the gel goes on..." He trailed off as he focused on the screen in front of him. "Now, let's see what's going on in there. You haven't been having any contractions recently?"

"No, I've been feeling fine," Lindsay informed the Doctor. "My Mom and sister insisted we had an appointment just to check."

"Better to be safe than sorry," Doctor Scott said as he flashed a smile towards Lindsay's mother, and just as he finished talking a quick, rhythmic thump filled the small room.

"Is that my grandchild's heartbeat?" Dana's teary voice asked meekly.

"It sure is," The Doctor smiled. "Strong and healthy, which is what we want."

Lindsay turned and smiled at her tearful sister and mother. "I'm glad you.. you know, got to see me pregnant."

"Oh sweetie," Dana whimpered as she reached for her youngest daughter's hand. "I'm just so glad I got to see this... the ultrasound... hear the heartbeat."

"Me too," Haley sniffed as she swiped her tears away with the sleeve of her jacket. "Linds, this is incredible."

Lindsay smiled as she turned back to the screen and observed her growing child.

Doctor Scott turned from where he had been facing the screen and smiled brightly towards Lindsay. "Well, she looks to be doing just fine."

"She?" Lindsay whispered as tears sprung to her eyes. "I'm having a girl?"

"You didn't know?"

Lindsay shook her head slowly. "I... my tech in New York was never able to catch the baby in the right position, but I always... I always thought," she swiped away at her tears. "I'm having a baby girl?"

Doctor Scott nodded. "You sure are."

"A girl." Dana whispered. "A granddaughter."

"A niece!" Haley squealed. "Holy crap! I call spoiling duties!"

"Danny's going to be beside himself," Lindsay giggled tearfully. "He was praying for a baby boy. He's been picking some questionable boy names all day... I have to tell him."

"He's still at work," Haley reminded her. "Wait until you can talk to him."

"I'll text him." Lindsay shrugged as she grabbed her phone that Dana had been handing her. "I _have_ to tell him. He told me I had to tell him if they said _anything_ at my appointment."

"I'll give you all a few minutes to call the masses." Doctor Scott chuckled. "Take your time... and congratulations Mrs. Messer... pass on my congratulations to your husband."

"I will." She smiled sincerely as she briefly paused from her message.

"What're you saying to him?" Haley inquired as she glanced up from her own phone, currently in the process of texting Nathan Lindsay's news.

Lindsay merely smiled at her sister as her thumbs quickly compiled a message before sending it and passing her phone back to her mother.

"What did you say?" Dana pressed as she slipped her daughter's phone into her handbag.

Lindsay simply smiled as she turned and fixated her eyes on the screen. "Hey baby girl." She whispered.

* * *

_Dr's appointment going fine... he's giving us a few minutes so I figured I'd text you with you being at work and me only having a few minutes. I'm fine, and so is our baby GIRL. He confirmed the sex, finally! :) We'll talk when you finish shift. I hope you're as excited as I am about this... I love you. _

Danny swallowed as he glanced up from the message and dropped the 'Best Boy Names Ever' to the table. He felt like a tonne of bricks had been dropped onto his chest. He was internally freaking out and jumping for joy at the same time... which he was pretty sure was impossible.

Trying to make his way back into conversation, he suppressed the terror in his chest as he began to inform the rest of the group of his and Lindsay's... exciting news.

"Mac's no good... that was Lindsay," he broke the excited babble of their co-workers.

"She alright?" Stella inquired.

"Yeah she's fine... and so is the uh- baby girl, in her belly."

As the team celebrated the new revelation about his and Lindsay's baby...girl, Danny let out a deep breath. Life as he knew it was over. A baby girl changed everything. They'd have to move to the suburbs in order for him to be able to construct that impenetrable tower he had set his mind on building. He'd then have a lot of late nights waiting for her to get home from a date once Lindsay had made him take down the said impenetrable tower... He'd also have a few murder wraps to beat if a boy ever dared to break her heart... He'd have a heart attack the day she told him she was pregnant – because after all, no boy was _ever_ getting close enough to her to get her pregnant, so he had that to worry about too.

_Oh god. _Danny cried internally. _Oh god, oh god, oh god! _

Honestly, he could feel the grey hairs growing on his head as he sat and let it sink in.

Had Lindsay texted him with news of a boy, he'd be dreaming of all types of different things. Little league. Baseball practice. Monday Night Football. Girls. Cars. Motorbikes. Grandchildren... and he'd probably be doing cartwheels to celebrate. But a girl? A little baby princess? A Daddy's little girl?

_Stupid fucking players curse._

A baby girl. Two girls. Lindsay and... Lucy? Or even maybe Lydia. Either way, they were _his_ girls. And maybe, just maybe after he finished freaking out – having two girls was something he could get on board with. He'd have to, because he had no choice. This being said, he'd literally found out seconds ago about his baby girl... but she already held the key to his heart.

And as for her mother, well, of that there was no question. Lindsay Messer would always be the one with the key to Danny Messer's heart.

* * *

**Hope you enjoyed... I know I mixed it up a little with the beginning, but Fred and I just can't help ourselves when it comes to drama it seems... and well, it was quite the squee-worthy scene in my head when Danny walked on into Lindsay's exam-room.**

**Anyway - thanks so much for reading. Comments are always muchly appreciated! :) **


	55. Lost Without You

**A/N: So, I've had this one (as usual) for a while, but all I had was the beginning and the ending – and had absolutely no idea whatsoever on how to make the beginning and end meet in the middle – hence the long, long, LONG break I feel I've had. (Well that and I grew up overnight... I moved into my very own house –pauses for proud smile- and was therefore making it a home. I now go to stores and look at cushions and bathroom mats... hahahahah! also explaining my lack of reviews to you other lovely authors, expect some soon! Promise!) So yes, that is basically my excuse on why it's taken so long to get the middle to be nice to me and work in the way I wanted it to. ****Turns out Fred wasn't **_**that**_** nice and I feel a lot happens in this chapter, like little random scenes, but alas, such is as what Fred insisted on... so such as was what Fred received! (I'm sorry if I lose anyone at some point!... in this A/N alone!)**

**In other news and actually relating to the chapter, I shamefully added a little bit of a Rookie Blue link in this chapter – so those of you who watch and know the show, I'm sorry. I couldn't help it. I'm going through withdrawals after the season finale and needed to get my fix somehow! Haha.**

**Special thank you to those of you that reviewed last chapter. Your words of encouragement are so lovely, you all have no idea how much I appreciate all of you.** cklovesm-m, Dudette, afrozenheart412, rapidtetv, Dine89, brendanakai, Lindsay1234, messermonroeforever125, iheartcsinewyork, Meredith and Derek and unlikelyRLshipper**. Your reviews really blew me away - especially those of you that really get in depth, huh, Caitlin ;)... and it just makes me smile that my random ramblings can get such an amazing response. So thank you! **

******NothatRose – this one is for you. We talked about this song months and months ago now and I'm sure you thought I had forgotten, but I did not! I hope it was everything you wanted it to be (plus a few surprises!)**  


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**Set during (and after) that episode where Danny beats the crap out of Michael Elgers. 5x22 is it? Maybe... I don't know anymore (it's also nearly 4am! Episode numbers aren't my strong point at such a time! lol!)**

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**I'm Lost Without You – Delta Goodrem **

_All I know is I'm lost without you, I'm not gonna lie._

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* * *

_

Thumping his desk with his clenched fist, Danny let out a rumbling growl that echoed through the glass panels of the office. He knew- KNEW- that IAB were going to have his ass for showing Michael Elgers a thing or two. He just knew it. And it wasn't as if he didn't expect it. He just didn't agree with it. There he was, wife and daughter on the way, risking his life every single day serving and protecting the city and they couldn't grant him a little benefit of the doubt when a piece of trash like Michael Elgers acted the way he did? Bullshit was what it was. Bullshit.

He took a deep breath as he told himself that he didn't care. Whatever happened was going to happen for a reason. ... That didn't mean that he wasn't pissed off about it though.

He sat back in his chair and his back cracked. Maybe it wasn't going to be such a bad thing. He'd already had the chance to get a lot done in the time that Lindsay had been in Montana... Even to the point where he'd assembled their daughter's room.

Daughter. He let out a long, laboured breath as he tried to suppress the joy and contentment he felt every time he pictured his baby girl. The day that Lindsay and he had found out for definite that they were having a baby girl, he had been terrified. It had shaken his very core, knowing he was actually going to have a baby girl. It was one thing listening to Lindsay insist that they were having a girl, but there was no evidence of that – it had been just a hunch. He could smile and nod all he wanted, and deep down know that they were having a boy. But all that had changed now. They had solid evidence that they were having a baby girl.

He was going to have a baby girl that would break his heart every time he looked at her - and honestly, he didn't know whether it scared him to death or filled him with excitement.

After the initial shock had worn off, Lindsay had declared a Skype date after Danny had finished work, and using Danny's Apple Mac computer and his shared screen capability, they had searched together online at all the different stores they had been browsing in for the past eight months. Danny had made a note of each thing Lindsay had commented on, and the next day had bought every item he (and Lindsay) felt his daughter needed. He'd then singlehandedly put together each bit of his daughter's room; piece by piece. It'd had taken him the best part of his day off, but it had been nothing to him in the long run. It actually filled him with excitement as the pieces of his daughter's bedroom fit together over the day. It made it real for him. Everything was in place for their daughter; waiting for her arrival, which left him in a pickle. What was he to do for the next week as Lindsay's trip came to a close? Lindsay was moved in. They'd re-decorated. Their little girl's room was complete...

Danny picked up a stress ball that sat on his desk and began to squeeze the object. He and Lindsay really were in a different place compared to the last time she'd been in Montana. Last time she'd left without even saying goodbye; and this time – she nearly let him talk her out of going, thus not leaving at all.

He'd been lost without her last time; and although he refused to admit it, he was even more so lost this time. He was just able to handle the separation a little better he reasoned with himself because he knew she was coming back to him.

Deep down, a part of him was suggesting that he'd laid a beating on Michael Elgers because of the pent up energy from not having Lindsay around like he'd been accustomed to, but just as quickly as the idea came to him; it disappeared. He knew for a fact that it was simply his mind telling him he was grasping for straws. He wasn't _that_ lost without Lindsay, was he? He shook his head. No. He wasn't so lost he felt the need to beat someone up. He had been sticking up for Sheldon; and he would have done the same for any one had they been with him. And... Michael Elgers had resisted arrest. He had to apprehend him somehow, right?

He pushed back from his desk and took a deep breath. He had sufficiently wasted the fifteen minutes before his meeting with Internal Affairs. He straightened his back and smoothed down his shirt as he prepared himself for the worst, and hoped for the best.

* * *

Suspension... Two weeks. Without pay. Quite frankly it was a load of crap. He was pissed. Pissed to the high heavens, but he had expected it; so when they had told him it wasn't the punch to the gut he had thought it may have been.

That didn't mean though that it didn't hurt a little. Alright, it hurt him a lot.

He'd told Mac that he was looking forward to spending time with his new wife before their baby arrived... his actual wording had been Bambina... but by the by. Despite the annoyance he had been feeling moments previous he felt a smile wash over him as he gazed down at the half packed duffle bag that lay in the same place Lindsay's suitcase had.

He'd gotten off the phone to Lindsay's parents two hours ago; and had then managed to snag a seat on a flight leaving JFK in four hours, getting him into Bozeman at around nine thirty.

The opportunity had been handed to him on a plate, and there wasn't a chance in hell he wasn't going to take the opportunity and follow his instincts.

She'd had enough damn time in Montana in his own humble opinion and as her husband, he was putting his foot down. She'd spent some quality time her sister. She'd put up with the constant teasing from her brothers, whom were apparently taking no pity whatsoever on their pregnant sister. She'd been spoilt by her father, and loved on by her mother.

... And he couldn't deal with being away from Lindsay a moment longer.

From their hourly phone-calls he could tell that Lindsay was both preparing herself for coming home in a little under a week, but also, she was ready to leave. Like she'd said to him in one of their conversations when she first arrived; Montana had been such a huge part of her – but New York had captured her heart.

Well, New York and somebody else.

He smirked as he tossed another t-shirt into his duffle bag - uncaring of how it would crease even more in transit to Montana. He couldn't care less if he tried if he was to be honest; all he wanted was to get to Montana. And the four hours he had to kill before his flight was going to in turn kill him.

He figured he could run for something to eat, but was too anxious to eat anything. He could tidy the apartment up, but he was too excited and would end up making more mess. He could just go sit in the airport bouncing his feet against the floor as he waited for his check in desk to open up, but that was as good as he lay on the bed; deciding he'd packed enough, and turned the TV on. To turn it off a second later. ... He'd never been so antsy in his damn life.

"Fuck this!" The excitement in his stomach rose as he jumped up and roughly zipped up his duffle bag and pulled it from it's position on the bed, securing it on his shoulder.

He turned the light off in his and Lindsay's bedroom and quickly made his way through the apartment, stopping only to grab his wallet and ticket confirmation that lay on the breakfast bar.

He was so freaking close to seeing the smile he'd missed for nine days, and not even the distance between them, the wait to check in, the flight itself or him navigating his way from the airport to Lindsay's parents' house was going to stop him from revelling in the knowledge that he was about to surprise his wife with the best present ever... her husband.

* * *

"Wanna do something?"

Glancing up from her glass of water, Lindsay shook her head slowly. "Sorry Hales, I... I'm not really in the mood to be sociable today."

"Why?" she sighed as she took a seat next to her sister. "Missing Danny?"

Lindsay nodded slowly and sadly. "Yeah. A lot."

"Why, you've been fine so far..."

"I've never really gone this long in not seeing him. Even when he... when we..."

"When he cheated on you." Haley finished her sister's sentence off with a significant amount of disgust. "Because that's what it was. Cheating."

"Hey, hey." Lindsay shot her sister a look. "First of all, that's between him and I and it doesn't concern you. And second, he made a mistake – I've made mistakes along the way too... nobody's perfect Haley."

"I know that but..."

"But nothing, it's in the past, and there's no point worrying over what we can't change, is there?"

"Well, once a cheater always a-"

"Finish that sentence and see what my fist does to your pretty face, Haley." Lindsay threatened. "I may be pregnant but I could easily have your skinny ass on the floor."

"Look, let me rewind here for a second. I didn't come here to get into it with you Linds, I honestly didn't."

"So what's with the full force attack on my husband then, Hales? I thought you liked him."

"I do, Linds. I love him to pieces for everything that he's done for you. He's my brother in law and I love him like you love Nathan. I just... it gets me when you're here and you're sat wishing you were back home with him. I don't get you much, do I? You're my best friend in the entire world, and it kills me that in the last four years I've seen you twice, and each time you were depressed over Danny."

"Depressed is a little extreme, don't you think?"

"Perhaps," Haley shrugged. "I just... I want my baby sis, you know? I want to spend time with you, and not Danny's wife."

"Well, what if it was you."

"If what was me?"

"If you were pregnant and you couldn't be with Nathan."

"Lindsay, you're on vacation for two weeks! He's not in some far off country and you can't even speak to him. He's like a few hundred miles away."

"Try thousands."

Sighing, Haley pulled Lindsay's chair back from the table and tugged her sister's swollen body out of the chair. "That's it."

"What? Hales... Come on."

"No, I'm cheering you up."

"Haley..." Lindsay whined, splitting the syllables of her sister's name. "Haley, please. Just let me be."

"No."

* * *

Settling into his seat, Danny let out a contented sigh.

Finally. New York to Denver, Denver to Montana. He was finally on his way, feeling slightly less nervous than he had been the first time round.

"Business?"

Danny glanced to the man sitting next to him and shook his head. "Me? No, I'm going to see my wife."

"Aww, how nice." The man returned amicably. "Where is she?"

"Montana; visiting her parents." Danny smiled. "I can barely contain myself."

"I can tell. You look like you're beaming."

"And I'm not the beaming type." Danny quipped. "Danny Messer." He said, offering his hand. "How ya doin'?"

"Luke Callaghan." The friendly blonde smiled and returned the handshake.

The two men settled into silence for a minute before Danny felt himself trying to strike up conversation to keep himself occupied. "So, what brought you to New York?"

"Who's to say I'm not from New York?"

"I've lived here my whole life and that accent you've got there tells me you're not from here." Danny smirked.

"Conference." Luke smiled.

Danny nodded. "Nice city to have it. Get the chance to explore?"

"I've been a few times. I'm with homicide. And what better of a city to have a conference... I hear the crime lab here is out of this world."

"Get out of here." Danny snorted. "I work for the NYPD. I'm with the crime scene. I work in that very crime lab."

"No way!" Luke shook his head. "Which Detective do you work with?"

"Don Flack." Danny smirked. "Know him?"

"I just spent all weekend with the guy." Luke shook his head. "Seriously?"

"Seriously." Danny nodded.

"Well damn, what a small world."

"What did ya say your name was?"

"Luke," he repeated. "Luke Callaghan."

"I'll make sure to mention it the next time I talk to him."

"You should, tell him I say hi."

"I will." Danny smiled as the captain announced push-back from the gate. "So, you heading home to anyone special?"

* * *

"Hey... you."Her voice suggested she was a little unsure of why his phone had gone straight to answer-phone."I guess you're..." she paused. "Where are you? I'm not by any means turning into some crazy wife that needs to know your whereabouts all day every day, but I just... I really miss you and I'm going crazy here without you and I really needed to talk you and... I'm now going to stop rambling and just hang up the phone and pretend I never called and made myself seem crazy, okay? Okay. That sounds good." She paused again before hanging up.

_Oh God,_ she thought. _That'll be around the precinct by noon if Flack catches whiff of it. Ugh. Idiot, Lindsay Mon- Messer... You're an idiot._

"What do you think of this?"

Sighing, Lindsay glanced up from the rocking chair she'd placed herself in twenty-five minutes ago and slid her phone into her handbag. "It's exactly the same as the one Danny bought seven months ago... so I like it."

"He bought _this?" _Haley asked with a raised brow. "This exact outfit?"

"Yes. That exact outfit." Lindsay bit at her sister. "Haley, I'm tired. Please, please, _please, _can we go home?"

"I want to spoil my niece, Lindsay... You're not making it very easy for me."

"I'm about to burst here, Hales. I look and feel like a whale and you're seriously hell-bent on dragging me around every single baby-store in a three hundred mile radius... give me a break!"

"I'm excited about you having a daughter, Lindsay... As you should be too. I want to buy everything in that three hundred mile radius and I can't understand why you're not feeling it..."

"Hales, I've been excited about this for eight months."

"You didn't know though."

"I knew I was pregnant, and the baby was healthy, so that gave me enough excitement. Granted, I didn't know the sex for definite," Lindsay corrected her sister. "I didn't have any evidence that proved she was a girl, but I always knew. But deep down I knew she was a girl."

Haley let out a sigh as she took a seat next to her sister. "Is it true what they say... you just know?"

Lindsay shrugged and then nodded. "Yeah, I guess."

"I mean, when you... when you thought you were pregnant... did you, you know... know?"

Lindsay bit her lip for a minute before answering her sister. "I'd done the math, I'd looked at what had happened... what I knew wasn't used in the moment, and that gave me a big enough case to make against myself." Lindsay began with a giggle. "But non-detective side of me... she knew too."

"You did?"

Lindsay nodded. "I felt different."

"How different?"

Lindsay furrowed her brow and pursed her lips. "Is there something you want to tell me, Hales?"

Haley shook her head adamantly before turning a beet red. "I'm just interested. I mean, you're my baby sis, and none of us have had this yet, you know."

"Brad has Brian and Kelly, and Kyle has Louise. I would imagine they've been in a slightly similar situation to what Danny and I are in, Haley..."

"I don't mean them, Linds," Haley sighed. "I mean you and I; those of the Monroe's that can actually give birth..."

"Oh," Lindsay giggled. "Well, I mean I had morning sickness for a while before I took the test, so that was a pretty sure indicator because we both know how strong of a stomach I have. And then after I took the test, it did a number on my psyche and I was sick every morning without fail."

"Aww Linds, you poor thing..." Glancing at her sister, Haley shook her head. "You didn't have anyone to... Danny wasn't..."

"He didn't know Haley," Lindsay finished Haley's sentence, sensing she was struggling in finding some words to put together that wouldn't offend her sensitive sister. "He couldn't help me if I hadn't told him."

"Yeah but_ why_ hadn't you told him?" Haley pressed.

"Look, Nathan isn't perfect Haley. And neither is Danny."

"I know that, Lindsay. I know he isn't perfect, I do... I just, it hurts me knowing that you were all alone in that moment."

"By choice." Lindsay added. "I could have reached out for him."

"Could you?" Haley asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Despite everything that we were going through Haley, I know that if I told him I needed him he would have been there."

"Alright." Haley sighed. "I know it doesn't sound like it Linds, but I like Danny... I do. I just... you're my girl, and as grown up as you are I still worry. I always will."

"I know." Lindsay smiled and laid her head on her sister's shoulder and let out a breath as realised Haley was desperately trying to hold onto what little time they had left together. "So, that outfit there is pretty cute..."

* * *

"_... I'm now going to stop rambling and just hang up the phone and pretend I never called and made myself seem crazy, okay? Okay. That sounds good."_

Danny smiled as he ended what was now the third call to his voicemail. He knew he was sat in the Monroe driveway, and he was practically yards away from his wife – but he just couldn't move. Not yet. He wanted to savour the moment. He wanted it to be perfect, and he didn't know how to make it perfect. Not yet at least. He wanted to have the phone call down exactly. He wanted to be situated so he could see her face when she realised what was going on and where he was. He wanted to make her day.

He took a deep breath as a speech began to form within his mind. He was about ready – because now was better than never. He swallowed as he pressed the talk button, dialling Lindsay's number. He held it to his ear and suppressed his rapid breathing and anxiety.

"Oh thank God you called." Lindsay began, not even bothering to say hello. "Danny, I'm going crazy."

"Aaaww, baby. Why? What's the matter?"

"I just... I miss you. Way too much, and I know it's getting to Haley the fact that I'm here but I'm not really here and I just feel really bad, so I need you to talk me out of the funk I'm in and tell me to make the most of the time I have left with my family, with or without you."

"Aaaw, honey." Danny bit his lip. "Is that why you called earlier?"

"I had chosen to forget about that horrific message, thanks very much." She cringed. "I'm sorry, you must think I'm a total loser, leaving a message like that."

"Oh baby, no, not at all."

"Where were you?"

"I was just in an area with no service." _Thirty thousand feet is considered as an area, right? _He smirked to himself.

"I figured you were at a scene." Lindsay shrugged. "Take my mind off things. How was your day?"

"Alright." Danny bit his lip. "Nothing much happened really."

"How was work?"

"Meh, I'll tell you about it later." He tried to fight the smile on his face which was reflected in his voice. He also tried to fight the urge to tell her that he'd be telling her all about his day in person. "So, this pep talk then?" he prompted, seeing a good opportunity to get to talking about their distances apart. "What's making you miss me so much right now? I thought you were okay."

"I thought I was too, Danny... but I'm really not. I don't think I've ever missed someone as much as I miss you right now. I just... I feel like I'm spaced out and I'm just not me without you here. I'm lost without you."

"Aaww, darlin'... Why though? I thought you being at home was what you wanted."

"It was... it is," she corrected herself.

"But..."

"But I just want you here too."

He felt the anxiety rising inside him. He'd had a whole long list of things he wanted to say to her, but he couldn't prolong it any longer.

He had to tell her.

He slid out of the rental car and shut the car-door, letting it slam more than what he probably should have in order to keep the element of surprise. "Look outside."

"What?" She gasped.

"Look outside." He smiled down the line as he leant against the car. "There's a surprise for you out there."

His heart swelled when his eyes fell upon Lindsay as she approached and then stood in the windowsill, cell phone still clutched in her hand, holding it to her ear. He watched her disappear from view, until he saw the front door practically being ripped from its hinges.

Danny smiled as Lindsay shoved the screen door away from her; and there it was. Right in front of him was the smile that had been in Danny's mind the entire flight. It was now mere feet away; her eyes searching him in the dusk sunlight trying to figure out whether what she was seeing was true.

"I was lost without you too." Danny smiled finally as he slid his cell phone in his pocket.

"How..." she cried, hanging up her cell phone and shoving it onto the porch swing that sat on the deck. "What...?"

"The how and what doesn't matter right now." He smiled at her, deciding against telling her everything that had happened in the past few days straight up. "I came across the opportunity to take two weeks off, so I figured what better way to spend it than with you. Surprise!"

He hadn't realised but in the time he'd been talking to her, she'd made her way over to him and just as he finished the rest of his sentence, she flung her arms around his neck and sealed her lips to his. And by God was it a kiss. She'd left him with quite the memory of her kiss – practically searing his lips with her's with the intensity of the kisses they'd shared in the time between their marriage ceremony and her leaving – but his memory had not done her justice. The softness of her lips when combined with the tenderness and intimacy of their kiss made his bank account balance, slight jet lag and hunger pains in refusing to eat plane food absolutely three hundred percent worth every single penny, second and stomach growl he'd gone through or spent.

He locked his fingertips in Lindsay's longer hair and massaged her scalp gently, coaxing her into a kiss-coma with him.

She edged away from him slightly, reducing the intensity of their kiss a little, but still placing kisses to his lips in between gasps for breath.

"I can't believe you're here."

"Well, you better." He smirked before shaking his head. "That was so lame." He sighed as he pressed a delicate kiss to her lips. "All this way, and that's all I can come up with. Pathetic. And I call myself a smartass."

Lindsay shook her head and held a finger to his lips. "No, shush... It's perfect. You being here... it's perfect."

"Not as perfect as I would have liked, but hey, just seeing you makes things seem perfect."

"What made you come today though? How... why...?"

"I was lost without you, Linds." He informed her as he wrapped his arms around her and held her as close and as tight as humanely possible. "I missed you so much, and I couldn't deal with being away from you anymore. And like I said, the opportunity arose for me to get some downtime and get away for a few days, and I got myself on a flight outta JFK as soon as your parents gave me the a-okay."

"Wait... they knew?"

"Of course they knew." Danny smirked. "I had to tell them to hide your brother's shot-guns... and to tell them to kill an extra chicken for tonight's dinner."

"Smartass." Lindsay slugged him in the arm before snuggling against his strong chest. "I can't believe it. You're really here, aren't you?"

"I am." He smiled as he tucked a lock of hair behind her ear and pressed a kiss to her cheek. "God, I almost forgot how beautiful you are."

She blushed. "Danny..."

"Well, that was a lie; I'd never forget how beautiful you are... God, it's so good to see you, baby."

Instead of replying, Lindsay simply wrapped her arms around his neck and laid her head on Danny's chest.

"Thank you." She whispered after a few moments of silence between the two of them.

"Thank you? What for?"

"For being you. For being my amazing husband that will fly across the country at the drop of a hat when he thinks I need him. Because honestly? I _really_ needed you."

"And I needed you too, baby." Danny smiled. "I thought I'd go insane if I spent another night in our bed without you... and anyway, after the stunt I pulled the other day I figured I needed to do something to redeem myself out of your bad books. "

She rolled her eyes before running her thumbs over his cheeks affectionately. "Remind me to kick your ass for that later, alright?"

"Kinky." Danny smirked with a wink.

"Pervert!" she giggled, pinching his cheeks hard. "Come on, let's go inside. I need to go have a word or two with my parents, withholding information from a police officer."

"You've had too much time on your hands babe," Danny smirked as he temporarily let go of his wife so that he could grab his duffle bag from the back seat and then lock the car again. "Good job I'm here now for the intervention before you lost your mind completely."

"Oh my God," she stopped dead in her tracks with a twinkle of excitement in her eyes. "I can show you my beaver crime scene!" she squealed excitedly as he wrapped his arm around her shoulders and pulled her into his body.

"Oh Linds," he laughed, shaking his head. "God I missed you and your dorky exuberance."

"Good." She giggled. "And for the record Mr. Husband, I missed you too... even if you do call me a dork."

"Yeah, but you're my dork..." He reasoned with her. "And I actually wouldn't have you any other way."

* * *

**And there we have it... the show never really told us whether Lindsay was home when Danny got suspended, so I know this might come as a shock but I decided to go with Fred and pack Danny off to Montana. hehehe. Bless Fred. He's a good boy sometimes.**

**Thanks for reading, and I hope you enjoyed :) **


	56. Here

**A/N: Hey guys - long time no see, right? Well, I successfully (or will have this time tomorrow) finished my first week back at Uni as a scary second year! -holds for chattering teeth at the idea of an assignment due every other week- I've wanted to update all week, but with everything that's been going on this story here took a backseat for a while - which is a shame, because the only thing I needed in order to finish it was the chapter's song! But until I could find the song, I couldn't update... so when I was acting all domesticated earlier and listening to music while doing laundry and dishes it hit me. Not literally, unfortunately, but there was squealing when I realised which song would be perfect. **

**... that is literally a minute of your life (depending on how quickly you read) you can't get back. I now realise how completely unnecessary that rambling was. **

**I will hush and go on to thank everyone so you can actually get on with doing what you came to do when you clicked on the link in your email/on the ff page. **

**So... Huge thank you to:** Lindsay1234, Saderia, afrozenheart412, uscrocks, Meggie, conche, Aveo amacus, Dine89, cklovesm-m, nciscsinyluver, ZoeyBug, 18lzytwner, rhymenocerous, NothatRose, brendanakai, messermonroeforever125 **and last but certainly not least** unlikelyRLshipper!** Thank you all so much.!**

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**Here - Rascal Flatts **

_And I wouldn't change a thing; I'd walk right back through the rain, back to every broken heart on the day that it was breakin'. And I'd relive all the years, and be thankful for the tears I've cried with every stumbled step that led to you and got me here, right here._

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_

Peeling an eye open, Danny glanced down to the mess of hair that was sprawled across his chest. _That's right, _he thought, smiling to himself. That dream he'd just woken up from wasn't a dream as such; more of a replay of the previous night's events – Lindsay's smiling face as they fell asleep with their legs tangled. He felt a warm, comforted feeling rise within him as he felt his wife rub her nose on his chest subconsciously as she stirred. She rubbed her nose against him again from his slight movement and he tightened his hold on her body.

"Wake up, sleepyhead." He whispered into her ear, knowing the chances of her being awake already were extremely high. "It's time to get up. We got lots of things to do today."

"Two more minutes." She begged as she buried her face into his side, desperate to stop the light from outside blinding her.

"What happened to you bein' an early riser?" Danny let out a playful sigh as he tangled his fingers through her hair and began to brush the brown locks with his fingers; his way of soothing her back into sleep. "New York do a number on ya?"

"I'm gonna fall asleep if you carry on." She giggled as she cracked an eye open. "And if you want me up, it's probably not the best of ideas."

"Point taken," he chuckled, but continued regardless. "Did you sleep okay?"

"I slept perfectly." Lindsay smiled as she pressed a kiss to his bare chest. "Did you?"

"Memory foam mattress? Hell yes I did." He teased. "We need to get ourselves one of these."

"Hummfff."

"I'll take that as you agree."

"No, take it as a 'I slept perfectly because I was sleeping next to you' is what you should have answered but didn't because you're mean..."

"I thought that was pretty much a given." He smirked cheekily at her as he pressed a kiss to her temple.

Lindsay let out a giggle as she shuffled up the bed a little and laid her head on his pillow. "Mornin'."

"Mornin'," he smiled. "You awake now you've had your early mornin' teasin' session?"

She edged up his body to press a kiss to his lips. But instead of a brief lip-lock, she lazily explored the crease of his lips with her tongue; hinting for him to grant her access - to which he did more or less instantly. The kisses they shared were soft and romantic and as Lindsay pulled away he found himself being drawn to his wife, a little disheartened their kiss had come to an end way before he had wanted it to.

"Now I am," she giggled, her fingertips sliding up and down his bare chest. "Last night was..."

"Amazin'," Danny finished. "But so, so, _so_ wrong..."

"Wrong?" she asked with a raised brow. "And so, so, _so_, wrong at that... how so?"

"Linds," he gestured around the room with the free hand that wasn't wrapped around her, holding her close. "We're at your parents'... in your childhood room no less. If your Daddy knew what we did last night in his baby girl's room..."

"Danny, he knows we have sex, give him a little more credit than that. I'm by no means the Virgin Mary over here..."

"But in your bedroom, babe; it's wrong to have sex in Montana, let alone ten feet of your Dad. He owns a shot gun, ya'know?"

"Surprisingly I was aware of that," she giggled before tickling him with her index finger as she continually ran it up and down his chest. "I think if we were going to have sex, he'd prefer it to be in my bedroom to be perfectly honest."

"I don't." Danny shook his head. "I think he'd prefer if I didn't frisk his daughter at all."

"Frisk?" Lindsay snorted. "Wow, that's... that's special, Danny."

"You know what I mean," Danny growled at his wife. "All I know is no boy is ever getting close enough to our girl to get her pregnant... so therefore no boy will ever, _ever_ see our daughter's room, because she's gonna be a carbon copy of you and any boy would be insane not to be tempted to..." he growled and laid a hand on her stomach for good measure and emphasis, physically unable to finish his sentence. "I already got you pregnant and I'm in here having sex with you and-"

"You're so cute." Lindsay giggled as she held a finger to his lips and settled against his chest again; basking in the memory of the intimate night they spent together. The barrier of their child had (surprisingly) done very little in preventing them to make their reunion love-making that much more special. It had been intimate, romantic and had left Lindsay filled with satisfaction, but also love for her husband that she hadn't really had the opportunity to feel yet. They'd made love on their wedding night, but with the looming departure on her part, it'd made everything a little tearful for her overly emotional state. However last night had provided Danny with the time to leave no part of her untouched and un-kissed, she had simply let him take the lead... and then again, and again... and again.

"What you thinkin' about?" He pressed as he prodded her nose.

"Round... five." Lindsay flashed him a wink but then giggled. "Maybe tonight..."

"That was a four-time deal, Montana. No more frisking in your parent's house."

"We'll see." She giggled as she snuggled further under the comforter. "So..."

"So... what?" Danny laughed. "You ran out of things to say to me? I'm a little hurt, Montana."

"No..." She looked up at him. "Are you going to tell me what happened at work yesterday, or are we going to play our usual game and pretend it never happened?"

Danny let out a little sigh as he tightened his grip around his wife. "Linds..."

"I didn't push it last night because honestly, I actually didn't care that you weren't at work, because you were here with me... but now I- well, I'm a little worried and curious and I-"

"I got suspended." Danny began, cutting Lindsay off and ignoring her sharp intake of breath at hearing him say he had been suspended. "Remember Michael Elgers?" he continued on.

She nodded slowly.

"I kind of smashed his head against the floor... and then a few more times for good measure."

Lindsay blinked, which unnerved Danny a little, but he continued to tell her _everything _regardless.

"Hawkes and I... well we went to interview him about being a potential witness-slash-suspect to the latest case, and the second we walked in, I could just tell somethin' was gonna happen, you know? He wasn't happy Hawkes was there, and one thing led to another and he was squarin' up with Hawkes, so I got in-between 'em, ready to break somethin' up, and Elgers spit at Hawkes. He spit at him, Lindsay. I arrested him for harassment 'cause nothing else would come to my mind and then he threw in a quip about hanging Hawkes up on a tree and I lost it babe, I just full on lost it."

Lindsay let out a sigh as she tangled her fingers through his and placed them, intertwined together, on his chest.

"Department suspended me for two weeks without pay... I'm sorry babe."

"You know what," she whispered, as she squeezed their joined hands. "It's okay."

He raised his head a little and blinked. "What?"

She shook her head and shrugged. "What you did. I'm not mad. I'm not even upset."

Danny blinked before holding his palm to her forehead. "You okay? Do we need to get you to a Doctor?"

"Stop it," she smacked his hand away. "I'm serious Danny... Michael Elgers," She said, shaking her head. "If I was there, I would have held him down."

"Babe don't... you wouldn't have."

"You protected Hawkes, Danny. You just said you were getting to ready to break something up... you don't know how proud I am that it wasn't _you _squaring up with somebody for once, because in that situation you could have because let's face it, it wouldn't be the first time... but you didn't."

"I beat the crap out of the guy Linds," Danny admitted. "I just... I lost it. He was just so fuckin' rude to him, I couldn't let it go. It's one thing making quips about me being Italian, but Hawkes... that's below the line."

"Danny, why doesn't it matter if he comments on you being Italian, but it bothers you to the point of physical violence that he had prejudice against Hawkes."

"Because... Hawkes is my friend."

"I understand that Danny... But, Michael Elgers is always looking for a reaction. Why do you think he has that intimidating symbol tattooed to the back of his head."

"A swastika?" Danny offered tentatively, treading lightly.

"Yes." She bit at him, "He does it for attention Danny. He does it to get a reaction. To hurt people. And while I'm proud of you for standing up for a friend, it doesn't mean that what you did was justified and okay."

"Oh baby, believe me, I know that. I had what seemed like a hundred hours on the flight to go through everythin' that happened and how I was goin' to tell you. I know what I did was stupid, and I shouldn't have reacted, but we both know what I'm like, and rather than hidin' from you, I wanted to take what I'd done and be straight up and honest with you." He paused. "I want to show you that I am learnin' and I'm tryin' to take on board everythin' you asked me to do, because if I'm gonna go and do stupid shit, the least you deserve is to know about it."

She pressed a kiss to his shoulder as his words registered, which gave him the chance to add: "And I just want to thank you for not kicking my ass out of bed."

"Honestly, I'm just so... you telling me this, and actually taking time beforehand to find a way to tell me this, rather than finding a way _not_ to tell me shows how you're trying... and the fact that you told me- and told me everything honestly and off your own back- with only a little prodding on my part..." she trailed off and pressed a another kiss to his shoulder. "Thank you."

"I thought you were going to be pissed regardless of the fact I'd told you."

"Pissed?" she giggled. "Danny, you stood up for a friend, granted what you did probably wasn't the most stand up thing in the world, but you know what... I'll take it."

"Babe," He let out a sigh of relief and pressed a kiss to her temple. "I love you."

"I love you too." She smiled before prodding him in the chest with her index finger. "But don't you be making a habit of getting suspended, okay?... just putting it out there. This one time I can deal with it, but next time," she playfully ran her finger across her throat. "It'll be off with your head. Understand?"

"Completely." Danny nodded before smiling. "Thank you for being you -you'd be well within your right, right now to be packing me up to go sleep in the guest room for the rest of our stay after everything I've been doin' recently... getting myself killed almost, suspension..."

"You're not perfect," Lindsay shrugged. "But I quite like that about you. It makes things interesting, to say the least."

He snorted. "Yeah, interesting is one way to describe things... One of these days you'll be sending me a therapy bill."

"No, seriously," Lindsay insisted. "If you were perfect, there wouldn't be any room for growth in the relationship. Hell, there wouldn't be a need for growth at all if you were perfect. Just look how far we've come from you pulling on my pig-tails at the Zoo on my first day. We're laid in Montana in my old room as husband and wife and expectant parents. We wouldn't have got here if we hadn't made the mistakes we have. It'd take everything we've been through again multiplied by five if it meant we'd end up where we are right now."

"You would?" He asked. "Everything?"

"Everything," she whispered. "Your mistakes. My mistakes. The good. The bad. Everything."

"Well, for the record, so would I." He pressed a kiss to her temple.

"I tell you what," she giggled. "That's enough of all of this deep stuff, k? Let's enjoy our honeymoon..."

"Honeymoon. Please." Danny snorted with disgust. "Our honeymoon is going to consist of you, me and a bikini on a far off beach somewhere. Montana is just the... pre-show, shall we say."

Giggling, Lindsay squeezed his thigh before sitting up in bed and grabbing her dressing-gown. "C'mon you, be a good husband and go make me breakfast."

"Yes ma'am." He smirked as he jumped out of bed and was hot on her tail as she headed out of her bedroom, ready for whatever the day may hold for them.

* * *

**So that's it for now :) hope you guys enjoyed the latest. I have a few cute chapters planned for their short time in Montana - it's just a case of finding the time to sit down and type them out - fingers crossed for the weekend being me time! :) **

**Thanks for reading! **


	57. I Loved Her First

**A/N: Hi Guys! As a "treat" to myself for the hectic week I've had I thought - ooh, let's update! - I know, sad right? But I have an 8o'clock class tomorrow and even though I'm going to regret it in the morning I'm delaying bedtime - and updating would be a perfect way to do so! Hah. **

**It has occured to me as well, that if I was able to crunch out assignments like I do oneshots like this - I'd have my freaking thesis written in about a day. Seriously. 4000 words or so I have here, and it's probably been done over like I don't know - an hour or two... not today of course! But *sigh* if only thesis and assignments were as interesting as DL in Montana are... **

**... why am I rambling? You guys actually don't care - and this soooo wasn't what you clicked on this chapter for, so let's have a bit of hush from me so you can get on with reading :) **

**Special thank you to all of you who read/reviewed last chapter... I'm kind of regretting not going into detail about their night of secks now - Fred's mad at me for the record heheh - but that means we can always touch on it later perhaps? We'll see. ;) Anywhoo, special thank you to those of you who sent me a few kind words. It's always appreciated! **saderia, Dine89, webdlfan, Meggie, NothatRose, afrozenheart412, Lindsay1234, 18lzytwner, brendanakai, rhymenocerous and last but not least... messermonroeforever125** - thanks guys!**

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**I Loved Her First – Heartland**

_When she first smiled at me, I knew the love of a father runs deep. Someday you might know what I'm going through; when a miracle smiles up at you, I loved her first._

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_

"Looks like Mommy left us to our own devices." Lindsay sighed as she spied no previously prepared breakfast foods on the kitchen's counter.

"Mommy?" Danny smirked with a raised brow.

"Yes, Mommy. Do you have an issue with that?"

"No," He replied as he wrapped his arms around Lindsay, pulling her close. "It's actually kind of cute."

"Lies." Lindsay scowled up at him through her bangs and eyelashes. "You're teasing me."

"Babe," Danny gasped dramatically. "I wouldn't do anything of the sort."

"Whatever," she scowled once again, trying to wiggle away.

"Hey hey," He sighed as he pinned her gently to the cabinets and countertop behind her. "It was cute, k? Don't get all moody."

"I'll give you moody," she narrowed her eyes before a smile quickly broke out across her face. "Right after I let out a giggle of course."

Rolling his eyes, Danny tightened his grip around Lindsay and effortlessly lifted her onto the counter.

"What the hell?" she shrieked, a hand flying in his direction as she did so, clipping him on the side of the head. "Are you insane? What do you want to do, give yourself a hernia?"

"Oh Linds, please."

"Don't _Linds, please me,_ Daniel..."

"You pleased me enough last night, babe." He whispered in her ear.

"DANNY!" she cried, smacking him on the arm as she did so. "I'm about four hundred pounds right now; you could have easily killed yourself!"

"Four hundred pounds, Lindsay?" He teased. "Must we be so dramatic?"

"I'll go get on those weighing scales, Messer." She growled as she edged towards the end on the counter. "I'll go get on them right now and we'll settle this right here and now."

"You'll sit where I sat you and you'll do nothin' except watch me make us some lunch."

"Lunch?" She implored.

"It's eleven thirty-five, Lindsay... I'd say we're verging on more Lunch than Breakfast babe."

"If you would'a woken up earlier," She drawled, accompanied with a wink. "I'd be happily eating sausage and eggs."

"What can I say?" Danny shrugged. "Someone tired my ass out last night."

"Oh your ass," Lindsay smirked. "See I was under the impression that when you-"

"Good morning," Jack chirped, making his presence known. "Did you two sleep well?"

"Mornin' Daddy... We slept fantastic..." Lindsay mimicked Jack's light and happy tone. "Danny was like a rock all night. Rock hard."

"I'll bet, travelling all that way." Jack offered Danny an appreciative smile as he grabbed a bottle of water from the refrigerator.

"Yep," Lindsay nodded, smirking at the fact that Danny was beet red and busying himself in finding his way around the kitchen. "You were exhausted, weren't you babe?"

"Mhm," Danny offered lamely in response. He was mortified as to what Jack _could_ have just heard. "Like a rock all night."

As soon as he'd said it, he cringed.

He glanced over to Lindsay who had a one of her dirty smirks across her face as she chewed lightly on her bottom lip.

'Rock hard'. Him. Them. Reunion. Sex... numerous times.

'_Hah. Hah. Hah' _He narrowed his eyes and cocked his head a little as a way of making her aware of the fact he knew _exactly_ what she meant.

He'd make sure to get her back for that later on.

"So what's the plan today, kids?" Jack inquired as he handed Danny the knife he assumed his son-in-law was looking for, and failing to find.

"Plan? No plan I don't think. Just going to laze around - sound good, baby?"

Danny shrugged. "Whatever you want, darlin'," He replied, slicing the tomatoes he'd taken from the fridge. "Wouldn't mind gettin' to see this an' that, but we've got a few days, so there's no rush."

"Is there anything you forgot?" Jack asked. "I mean Dana has enough up there to stock a Wal-mart supercenter but if you need anything in particular it might be a nice excuse to get Lindsay here out of the house."

"Not that I've realised yet, but you never know."

Jack nodded before turning on his heel. "Linds, when you're done, Mommy wanted to see you."

"Why?"

"I have a don't ask-"

"Don't tell policy." Lindsay finished accompanied with an eye-roll. "That's just to save you a conversation, Daddy."

"Once your mother gets going Lindsay, she won't stop. After a million years, you find it's easier to just do as you're told." Jack winked at Danny. "Listening... that piece of advice will come in handy ten years down the line."

"He's always going to listen to me," Lindsay smiled as she reached out for Danny and tugged him towards her. "Right baby?"

"Sure am, Darlin'," He smiled obediently before pressing a kiss to the tip of her nose. He then turned and made his way over to the fridge to finish up grabbing the various different ingredients to finish off his salad he was making for the two of them.

"Just salad?" Lindsay implored as she realised he hadn't gathered anything else. "Really?"

"I know you Linds, and you'll be eatin' all day, so I might as well start you off with something healthy before you tuck into everythin' else I know you're gonna want."

Lindsay opened her mouth in absolute detest and disgust but couldn't get any words out – and when Danny shoved a slice of tomato into her mouth, she found it even harder.

"Smooth move," Jack chuckled before he turned on his heel and left the kitchen, bracing himself for the bellows of his youngest daughter, chastising her husband for being so mean to her.

"You'll pay for that comment, Messer." Lindsay's voice sounded seconds later. "And you, buddy, are the reason I eat all that I do, so if you wanna start, then let's start. Right here, right now."

"Thatta' girl," Jack smiled as he settled into his chair, situated in front of the TV, listening amusedly to Lindsay. "Give him hell."

* * *

After numerous apologies, even more kisses, and a shared lunch together – Danny Messer found himself looking around the Monroe residence, desperately searching for something he could busy himself in so that he could avoid a conversation he knew was coming.

If he was honest, he felt a little awkward. It wasn't that he was being made to feel awkward or unwelcome – but Lindsay had skipped off (well, would have if she was capable of anything other than waddling!) to see what her Mother had wanted; which left him struggling to find somewhere to put himself within the house. So far, he'd spent every second of his time with Lindsay, and hadn't really had much interaction with any of the Monroe's without Lindsay...

"Are you going to stand there all day, tryin' to find something to do? Or are you going to come sit and watch the game with me?"

Danny looked up from where he stood in the hallway and craned his neck a little. The voice had come from the living room – and as his worried eyes fell on Jack Monroe, he was met with a smile. "I don't bite, son."

"See, Lindsay told me you did." Danny joked nervously with his father-in-law. "She also told me to call you sir."

"I hate being called sir." Jack narrowed his eyes. "And she knows that."

Danny shook his head slowly. "She always promised me that she'd get me back for a prank I played on her when she first started. I told her to call Mac sir, and like you, he hates it. I don't think she ever forgave me for that."

"I'm sure she'll build a bridge and get over it eventually." Jack chuckled as Danny finally settled on the couch. "You know earlier, I thought Lindsay was going to kill you when you lifted her up onto the counter."

"You... saw that?" Danny asked; a little embarrassed.

"Indeed." Jack smiled warmly. "I also saw the little kiss to the tip of her nose before going to the fridge. I'm more of the strong, silent, I see everything type."

Danny nodded. "I'll make sure to remember that."

"You like football?" Jack mused as he changed the channel, leaving it on ESPN.

"If we're home Lindsay and I'll sit and watch Monday Night Football together if there's nothing else on... but other than that... not really." He paused. "I'm more of a baseball fan. I actually got pretty far in the minor league till one-"

"One game when things changed... a pitcher was throwin' you inside all day till he catches you in the head... so you go to put one in his head but before you could, you were caught in a pile up and it shattered your wrist. And it was an end to your baseball dreams of starring in the major league."

Danny blinked. "Um... how-?"

"Let's just say you came up into conversation a few times, and I'm a good listener when it comes to my baby girl."

"But... I... wow," Danny said, a little stunned. If he was honest, he had thought that Lindsay hadn't been listening when they'd shared that particular conversation as they processed a scene in their early days of dating – clearly a _major_ mistake on his part.

"Lindsay." Jack confirmed. "When she was tellin' me, I knew the story was significant because she had it down like nobody's business – like it was reams of facts, and when that's the case, I know it's important to her... hence me rememberin' it word for word."

Danny nodded. "She does get like that when somethin's important to her."

"She tells me you do the same too."

"I do?"

Jack smirked. "Fly fishing rod for her eighth birthday."

"And a buck knife for her ninth birthday." Danny finished with a smile at the memory of that particular conversation with Lindsay – this time sat in their office as he held a picture of her's hostage as he took the opportunity to tease her about her toothy grin as she held up the fishing rod over her head. "I swear; I've never met a girl like her before."

"She's one in a million."

"You know," Danny let out a chuckle before continuing. "Linds once told the ME at work, Sid, that I called her Montana because she was a 49-ers fan. Sid put her straight and said it was because I had a crush on her..."

"I remember her telling me about that." Jack smiled. "At first our conversations were all about the city and how she was settling in, but then... all I heard about was some ignorant New Yorker that was put on the planet to drive her crazy and send her mad. Madly in love maybe..."

Danny smirked. "That would'a been me."

"No shit," Jack chuckled. "You didn't let her have it easy, did you?"

"Well I..."

Upon seeing Danny's worried look across his face, Jack tried to do a bit of back-paddling. "I'm kidding... although I'd love to hear your thinking behind winding my baby girl up."

The discomfort Danny was already feeling after his and Lindsay's love-making antics under the Monroe's roof the night before was still playing heavily on his mind, making it difficult for him to swallow and find his voice. He hadn't really had a proper introduction to any of the Monroe's, let alone Lindsay's father. He couldn't even begin to imagine what it felt like for Jack Monroe – not being able to give his little girl away in a more traditional typesetting of a wedding. So not only had Jack missed out on giving his daughter away – he'd effectively given her away to the same man that had driven his baby girl crazy when she first moved to the city. The same guy that had made her first few months nearly unbearable. The same guy that had been the focus of all of Lindsay's phone calls when she got the rare opportunity to call home. The same guy that...

"Danny? I see that you're clearly deep in thought here, but... you do realise I was just kiddin', and I was genuinely interested in what your thoughts were when you met her."

Danny settled into the seat a little more, realising that perhaps Jack wasn't in the same mindset as he was himself. Maybe his way of thinking came with being a new father whereas Jack's had been weathered by the four children he'd raised with Dana? He couldn't be sure. Finally finding the courage to kill the silence between them, Danny cleared his throat. "I just... I wanted to see how far I could push her before she snapped. For a while it was just pullin' on her pigtails for the fun of it... because honestly for a while it didn't look like she'd last long before she snapped, until she started pushing back of course."

"Caught you off guard?" Jack asked.

"Absolutely," Danny chuckled. "I didn't know what the hell to do with myself when she gave as good as she got. Like, before I thought she was cute, but always in a girl next door way, no way would I ever... with her."

"Ever what?" Jack asked with a raised brow.

"Date. Take her to restaurants and spoil her and then drive her home and leave." Danny spluttered. "Nothing else."

Jack narrowed his eyes and observed Danny's concern plastered across his face at what he'd unknowingly said. After a few moments of silence, Jack cleared his throat. "What changed?"

"I honestly don't know," Danny shrugged. "Her? Me? Both of us? One minute I was tryin' to find ways to wind her up, and the next I was tryin' to find ways to keep her close."

"Really?" Jack pressed; intrigued to hear a part of his daughter's life he rarely got to know about.

Danny nodded. "Mac was really good in the beginning with us. He gave us a lot of time to get to know another with working on cases. Between you and me, I think he always knew there was something there."

"Well honestly Danny, I think you two were the only ones that didn't know there was something there... I was all the way in Montana and I knew there was something going on... and believe me, no-one tells me anything, so that tells you how obvious is was to anyone on the outside looking in."

"I had no idea. All I know is that one minute I vowed and declared I'd never be the type to cuddle, the next – I'm pining after her 'cause she's told me to stop bein' so clingy when it comes to cuddle-time."

"She tells you to stop bein' so clingy?"

"Well no, it actually only happened once... I think she was only jokin' though. I mean like she loves cuddlin', but gets to a-" Danny trailed off and turned a dark shade of red. "An' I just realised who it is I'm talkin' to... you don't wanna know about this."

Jack smiled. "I'm not completely naive, Danny; I've seen the way you look at each other; you've got a connection. Not to mention she's pregnant, and you're married. I'd say that's a pretty big give-away that you... well."

Danny inwardly cringed – if the ground was to ever swallow him up, now would be a fantastic time, he figured.

"It's fine," Jack offered reassuringly. "We're probably both just as embarrassed as each other."

"I don't know about that," Danny ran his hands down his face.

"So, what do you think about seein' where Lindsay's from?" Jack tried to change the subject.

Danny smiled warmly at his father-in-law, beyond relieved that they didn't fall into _another_ terribly awkward silence. "Seein' her here just puts everythin' into perspective for me... seein' her in her own environment. She's just... she glows."

"That's the pregnancy," Jack smiled. "And that rock on her finger."

"I doubt that," Danny shook his head. "I haven't ever seen her like this before."

"I don't think you two have gotten married before though..."

"True," Danny chuckled. "But, I can just tell that there's a part of her that comes alive when she steps foot on Montana soil, ya'know? Like she's a completely different Lindsay in New York... I mean that's not a bad thing. She's just more... relaxed and light here. She doesn't have to always be on the go like how we are in New York."

"How do you mean a different Lindsay?"

"Well, on her first day she tackled a guy twice the size of her and I'd say it went onwards and upwards from there. She's like a superhero when she puts her badge on."

"That's my girl." Jack smirked proudly. "I knew Brad, Kyle and Haley giving her crap like they did when they were little would have had positive benefits. Dana used to hate the arguing, but I knew my Linds wouldn't stick around, and if she had the confidence to stand up to those three idiots, I knew she'd be able to make something out of herself no matter where she was in the world."

"Well, of all the places she could have picked, I'm glad she picked New York." Danny admitted.

"She really loves you," Jack smiled as he muted the television. "You know that, don't you?"

Danny smiled shyly and nodded. "And you have no idea how much I love her."

"Oh, I do." Jack nodded. "You forget our girl is the same girl. I know exactly how much you love her, because I do too. She's pretty easy to adore..."

Danny smiled and sat back in his chair, "Ain't that the truth."

"She was a wreck the night she got here." Jack chuckled, "And between you and me - she'd hate me for tellin' you this - but she was just... she was going crazy."

"She was?" Danny asked with raised eyebrows. "I mean, I figured she'd miss me, but I thought she'd be fine once she got here."

"So did we, but Danny... honestly? If you hadn't have come out, I would have paid for a ticket for you and convinced Mac personally to give you the time off."

"She can't'a been that bad?" Danny posed it as a question, but it was more a statement of disbelief. Surely Lindsay hadn't missed him _that_ much had she?

"Trust me, Danny..."

He blushed slightly and shrugged it off again, but stayed quiet.

"How many times did you guys speak per hour on the phone?" Jack questioned.

"Two or three times," Danny shrugged. "But most of the time it was... oh."

"Her callin' you." Jack smiled. "Honestly, I thought she was going to burst some of the time."

"It feels like I was callin' her 'cause whenever she'd call, I'd have my phone in my hand ready to call her ya'see."

Jack nodded slowly before his face dropped a little. "She still means the world to me, just so you know."

"Oh Jack, I know."

"I just want to... do me a favour and take care of her. Be careful with her. She deserves to be happy, and you make her more than that."

"I'll take care of the both of them, you don't gotta worry about that."

"I don't... but for my own peace of mind, I needed to say it. She means a lot to me. She's my little girl. And I want you to protect her for me... keep doing what you're doing."

"She means a lot to me too Jack, and the mistakes I've made in the past won't be ones that I'm gonna repeat. I promise."

"Just... look after her. That's all I ask."

Danny nodded. "I know I'll want someone to look after my baby girl when she gets older."

"You'll understand what I mean not too long from now."

"How do you mean?"

"What it feels like to let go of your little girl."

"I understand already, Jack. I know what it feels like..."

"Danny," Jack smiled knowingly at his son-in-law. "Until you see your little girl smile up at you and lock eyes with you... you don't know the feelin'. The second your baby girl recognises you as Daddy, you'll realise that you've never felt anythin' like it." Jack paused. "And then when she finds that boy you know she's always dreamt about, you'll know to break out the shotgun."

Danny snorted.

"But that'll be okay, because there'll be about ten boys that are 'the one she's been dreaming about'... it's when you don't feel the need to break the shotgun out is when you need to get worried."

"Why's that?"

"Because that's when you know you being the only man in your baby girl's life is comin' to an end."

Danny nodded as he realised what Jack was saying to him. "Can I ask you a question?"

"Other than the one you just asked?" Jack teased. "Sure."

"Did you ever want to break out the shotgun on me?"

"Occasionally – I wanted to smack you on the head with it a few times..." Jack smirked before shaking his head. "but no - I always wanted to give you a chance. God only knows why... Lindsay really sees something in you, and I think she's right. You're a good guy Danny."

"Comin' from you, Jack, that means a lot. I know you mean a lot to Lindsay and just for her sake I was prayin' you liked me because I know I haven't exactly been an easy customer with all that I put her through."

"Well, we all make mistakes," Jack shrugged. "I made a few along the way, but Dana and I made it through so..."

"What'cha talkin' about?"

Danny and Jack turned and both men smiled at the person stood in the doorway.

"You," the pair smirked in time to the other.

"Lies." Lindsay scowled playfully as she padded over to the couch and lowered herself carefully next to Danny. "What's the score?"

Jack winked at Danny before settling back into his well-worn chair which gave Danny the opportunity to settle into the equally worn couch. He let Lindsay sit for a moment or two before reaching out for her hand and linking their fingers together. He squeezed her hand softly as a comforting and loving gesture – all witnessed by Lindsay's father.

Lindsay offered her husband a small, shy smile at the sweet gesture made in front of her Daddy before laying her head on Danny's shoulder and then finally turning her attention back to the game playing on the TV, letting the threesome watch the game in a comfortable silence.

And while Jack Monroe might have loved Lindsay Monroe first, Danny Messer was a good replacement as the man in his baby girl's life.

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**And there we have it - another chapter = complete! Hope you guys liked it and thanks for reading! :) **


	58. Mama's Song

**A/N: It's been far too long since I updated this story. Between my hectic classes, social life, swimming, sleeping and assignments (in that order actually! haha) this story is taking a back seat apparently, which makes me INSANELY sad because I have so many ideas for it, so I hope you guys stick around because well, I want you guys to see what I come up with! hehe.**

**Now, as some of you know I'm the biggest Carrie fangirl ever, so this was inevitable, right? haha. Basically, to give you an idea of the time frame of it - this chapter is set while the last chapter is taking place... if that makes any sense at all? I hope so.**

**Special thank you to all you lovely folks that read, and an even bigger one to those who reviewed. I really appreciate the time you take to feedback to me. It makes Fred all fangirlish. hehe. So, special mentions and huggles to:** Lindsay1234, NothatRose, Dine89, afrozenheart412, 18lzytwner, brendanakai, saderia, unlikelyRLshipper and rhymenocerous. **You guys are awesome. **

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**Mama's Song – Carrie Underwood**

_And he is good, so good. And he treats your little girl like a real man should. And he is good, so good... he makes promises he keeps, no he's never gonna leave; so don't you worry about me._

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Sucking in a breath as she made it to the top step, Lindsay sought out her mother upon her father's request, ultimately leaving Danny downstairs to fend for himself for a few minutes. She shook the small ache in the pit of her stomach at the lack of his absence, knowing that she was being completely ridiculous because he was literally downstairs. But... a nagging voice inside her countered, after a week of not having him around all she could do (and wanted to do) was focus on him, be with him, and spend every waking minute with him. He was after all her husband... it was expected, right?

"Mom?" She called quietly through the upstairs, hoping her mother's voice sounded from somewhere. Upon hearing nothing, Lindsay called again. "Mom?"

"In here," a muttered and tearful voice called. Following the voice, Lindsay, as quickly as she possibly could, made her way into the room she could only assume her mother was sat... her bedroom.

"What are you doing in here?" Lindsay asked slowly as she appeared in the doorway. "And why do you have all of my photo albums-" she trailed off as she saw the tears cascading down her mother's cheeks. "Oh Mom, what's wrong?"

"These are happy tears," her mother smiled up at her as she carefully pulled herself up off of the floor. She then gathered Lindsay's hands in hers and led her daughter to the bed. "I just... I wanted to talk to you."

"Okay... well, is everything okay?"

"Everything's okay, sweetheart; everything is more than okay."

"So why are you crying?" Lindsay asked as she swiped away a tear from her mother's cheek.

Dana cupped her daughter's cheek and ran her thumb over the area. "It's just seeing you so happy... and how Danny flew all this way... it chokes me up a little. I checked on you two this morning and you just looked so content and happy together, and honestly? It got me all tearful."

Lindsay scrunched her nose in confusion. "But... why?"

"Linds, not every mother gets to see their daughter how I saw you this morning."

Lindsay cocked her head to one side in confusion.

"Alright, let me put it to you this way. Imagine your baby girl."

Lindsay smiled brightly. "Okay..."

"What do you see?"

Lindsay let out a contented sigh, "A beautiful little smile, Danny's eyes... his blonde hair, and maybe a few curls shaping her face. A little cheeky laugh... rosy cheeks... and completely healthy."

"Now, imagine her all grown up."

Lindsay's face dropped. "But..."

"See my predicament?" Dana cut in to prove her point. "I still see you as my little girl with all those cute little characteristics... then this morning, when I saw you all tucked up with your husband... it made me realise that you're not my baby anymore. You're Danny's."

"Is that why you have all my photo albums and baby book out?"

"I'm being nostalgic." Dana explained. "Going back to a simpler time where you were _my_ little girl..." Dana closed her eyes as she let a tear slip down her cheek; a tear that Lindsay caught with the pad of her thumb.

"Mom? Are you sure you're okay?"

"I'm happy, Linds. I'm happy he's there for you and he does all that he does. I absolutely adore him too... and I'm so proud of you, you've got yourself a wonderful husband in Danny."

"But..." Lindsay prompted again.

"It just makes me realise that my job here is done. I've taught you all the things that you needed me to teach you. I've given you all that you need in order to make it through with Danny and for you to be a Mommy to your own baby girl. I just have to watch you fly now and it's bittersweet that my last baby is grown up."

"I flew the nest like a million years ago, Mom."

"I know, but in my heart you were always the one that never left. There was always a part of you that was still here, more so than the others even though you were the furthest away."

"I'm not sure if that even makes sense."

"It makes sense to me, darlin'." Dana chuckled. "It's just like your first day of kindergarten, I cried for hours after I left you there, and you came home that day with the biggest grin on your face because you loved every single thing that you'd done that day. You'd met about a thousand friends and absolutely adored your teacher, getting to paint, recess... everything. It was hard for me deal with my little baby girl growing up, just like it is letting my youngest one go now."

"You cried?" Lindsay asked, amazed. "All day?"

"Kiddo, I cried that entire week. The first day because you were leaving to go, and then the rest of the week because you wanted to go so bad you didn't even want to come home. It broke me in two."

Lindsay fought her smile. "I had no idea..."

"Well of course I didn't let you _see_ me cry. Your father made me snap out of it eventually. Told me to pull my socks up and get on with it."

"He's so emotionally supportive." Lindsay commented dryly. "I'm so glad my husband is sat downstairs with him right now, taking in loads of really emotionally supportive advice – the most likely being what to do while I'm in labour. Tell me to suck it up and get on with it..."

"It wouldn't shock me." Dana smiled. "But you'd be surprised; he's always been a softy when it comes to his girls, Lindsay."

"Danny's the same," Lindsay admitted shyly. "He'd never admit it, but he really is a big softy when it comes to me and the baby."

"With good reason, you are two little gems that he has. He's lucky to have you Lindsay... as much as I go on about you being lucky to have him, I think he's luckier to have you."

"You're biased." Lindsay reminded her mother. "You're supposed to think that."

"So?" Dana shrugged. "It's true. I know how much you love him; he's a lucky man, Lindsay. I also know how much he's put you through, and you're still here. Not many women could say that. You told me yourself you were the only person he had at one point, and even then you weren't exactly on the best terms, but you still acknowledged the fact you were there for him... even though we both know that there was things that was going on that broke you in two."

"Mom..."

"I'm not bashing him, Lindsay. I'll leave all of that to Haley," Dana added a wink to indicate she was joking. "I love him Lindsay... I do. And while I don't agree with some of the things that he's done to you, I also have to remember that you're not perfect, and I know how stubborn you are. You don't think I know how much you pushed him away back in the day..."

"It wasn't the right time." Lindsay defended herself gently. "It wasn't fair for me to dump all of that on him. It's easy enough saying what I could have done, and what I shouldn't have done, but how do I know that if I had say told him everything, he wouldn't have ran in the opposite direction top-speed?"

"You and Danny, Lindsay _Messer_," Dana said for emphasis, "are meant to be." Noticing Lindsay wasn't convinced with her Mother's insistance, Dana pressed on. "The past is just one piece of you Lindsay, not everything. Every moment in your life builds you into who you're supposed to be – the both of you. If what happened, hadn't happened then you may have never moved to New York... You wouldn't have met Danny, captured his heart, and then pushed him away. He wouldn't have flown to Montana. You two wouldn't have gone through everything that you have, and you definitely wouldn't be having this little one," Dana said as she laid a hand over Lindsay's stomach. "Everything happens for a reason. You weren't supposed to tell him in New York, because he was meant to see it in Montana. He proved himself to you that day that everything he had been telling you was true. He was there for you if you needed someone. He loved you then and you were just too nervous and stubborn to see it."

"I had no idea you had such an opinion on him and us, Mom." Lindsay blushed slightly. "It just never occurred to me with me being so far away..."

"Baby, of course I would have an opinion. Every time you called me we'd talk about him, what did you think? I'd completely forget you had someone so magical in your life every time we hung up?"

"I wouldn't go that far." She giggled. "I don't think Danny would describe himself as magical..."

"I just want you to know how much I love Danny."

"I know you love him," Lindsay smiled. "He reminds you of Dad."

"Only slightly better looking, if I do say so." Dana winked. "He's quite the catch..."

"So was Daddy."

"He still is the catch," Dana winked. "And that's how I know Danny is so good for you; he gives me the same feeling your father did. He's protective, loyal, caring - not to mention he's all yours."

"You're making me blush... and my head about ten times the size it should be... which would make it in proportion with the rest of me right now."

"The bigger you are, the healthier that baby girl will be."

"That is absolute load of crap and you know it, Mom."

"True," Dana chuckled, "But the four times I was pregnant it always made me feel a little better."

"Whatever works for you I guess," Lindsay giggled.

"Oh Lindsay," Dana sighed heavily as she laid her hand on her daughter's stomach. "Where did all the years go?"

"I haven't a clue," Lindsay mused. "I think I blinked and about ten years disappeared."

"Get used to it sweetie: welcome to the rest of your life. Blink twice and this one here will be calling from her college dorm room."

"So your word of advice is to not blink?"

"No," Dana shook her head. "Blink, but just make the most of what time you have."

Lindsay smiled reassuringly at her mother, deciding to change the subject slightly. "I didn't even know they were in here," she nodded down to the array of photo albums that were strewn across her floor. "If Danny knew about these he'd have a field day."

"What? He'd be the first in line to tease you?"

"No, he'd want copies."

"That can be arranged!"

"MOM!" Lindsay cried. "He'd make a collage and hang it in the apartment. The last thing I need is him and Flack analysing every single questionable baby picture you and Dad ever took."

"They surely wouldn't."

"You haven't met Donald Flack. He still owes me a massive pay-back from when I got him good in the middle of a crowded street."

"Do I even want to know?"

"Well, all I'm going to say is it involved a life-like doll, a busy street, me putting my drama class to use and him going _bright_ red."

"You're an evil girl, Lindsay."

"I'm also a girl that has to be on her A-game all the time. He's tried a few times to get me back but never succeeds. I'm too good."

Dana tried to contain herself, but burst out into laughter at her daughter's confidence.

"It's true, Flack just falls at the last hurdle. He's had some good attempts, but they're just weak and see-through. Poor guy."

"I love seeing you like this." Dana smiled brightly and tearfully.

"Like what?"

"Yourself. Happy. Enthusiastic about everything. There was a time when I thought I'd lost that. When I thought I'd lost you. When all that stuff came back in regards to the trial, it broke my heart all over again. There's only so much a person can be expected to take, and I thought you'd reached your limit."

"There's no way you'll ever lose me," Lindsay whispered as she pressed a kiss to her mother's cheek. "I just lose my way sometimes... but I have you, Daddy, Haley, the boys... and now I have Danny, so you don't have to worry, Mom."

"I know, but a Mommy still worries, even when her little girl is grown up and she has her husband to look after her... there's always that little ounce of concern in the pit of a Mommy's stomach."

Lindsay smiled. "Mom, I've been a grown woman for about twenty years now..."

"You can be sixty five but you'll still be my little girl, Lindsay."

Lindsay smiled tearfully before wrapping her arms around her mother, and laying her head on Dana's shoulder.

Dana responded to her daughter's affections and pressed a kiss to Lindsay's temple. "You better be getting back to Danny... Lord knows what your father is saying to him."

"He's a big boy." Lindsay shrugged as she pulled a photo album onto her lap and opened it. "He can deal with whatever Daddy throws at him. It's going to happen anyway... sooner rather than later, right?"

"You have a point," Dana smiled.

"So," Lindsay smiled as she pointed at the first picture in the album. "who were you pregnant with when this one was taken?"

Looking at the date, Dana smiled. "You."

"Me?" Lindsay giggled. "Mom, you were huge! I was a tiny baby – how could you be that big?"

"My water had just broken."

"So you stopped and posed for a picture?" Lindsay arched her eyebrow.

"It was tradition, Lindsay." Dana teased.

"Tradition or no tradition. My water breaks, I'm getting my ass to the hospital. Don't be expecting no water breaking pictures from me, Mommy dearest."

"You'll see..." Dana smirked, "when you're a Mommy you'll document everything with pictures."

"I document everything with pictures anyway."

"But a picture of your baby girl will mean a whole lot more than a smashed bottle in a club."

Lindsay giggled.

"I'm going to put these away... you better go and save Danny. I fear for his life."

"I probably better, hadn't I?" Lindsay nodded in agreement. "We could always look at these later, right?"

"Absolutely." Dana smiled. "Go save your husband."

Lindsay stood and slowly made her way through the bedroom, stopping short just by the door. She turned and took a moment to watch her mother run her finger over Lindsay's little three-year-old face.

"Mom?" Lindsay said timidly, wanting to get her mother's attention.

"Yeah, kiddo?"

"I love you."

"I love you too, sweetheart."

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**I felt like I'd been neglecting Dana a little. Like we've had lots of Jack, but not much of Dana, so there we go - I hope you guys liked it! :) Thanks for checking in for the latest instalment :) **


	59. Take Me There

**A/N: Hi guys! So, I have a paper due, so of course I did the extremely sensible thing and wrote this bad-boy as a way to procrastinate what I know I have to do. Boo! But, DL got the fingers typing, so we're hoping that now I let Fred have fun with them, he'll co-operate and flip the switch into academic mode and we'll get down to business. (I hope you're listening, Fred!) **

**Now, usually, when I do a little bit of background knowledge, I find myself like – meh, okay... *type type type* ... for this chapter – oh, how it wasn't the case. It was so much FUN researching about Bozeman. (not to give too much away!) I got absolutely carried away though – so I do apologise; I was hoping you guys wouldn't mind! Hehe**

**But yeah, hopefully most of the stuff I've included is accurate, if not – I tried! Hehe. **

**Special thank you to all of you lovely people who offer me such kind words every chapter. It's always lovely to hear what you guys like about what I post. (And I've just looked at when I last posted... wowsa! it's been a while!) So yeah, you guys are actually amazing and never ever cease to bring a huge smile to my face! Special hugs to:** Megan, afrozenheart412, NothatRose, 18lzytwner, saderia, brendanakai, Lindsay1234, rhymenocerous, Dine89 and messermonroeforever125 ** :) **

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**Take Me There- Rascall Flats**

_There's a place in your heart where nobody's been; take me there. Things nobody knows, not even your friends; take me there. Tell me about your momma, your daddy, your home town, show me around. I wanna see it all, don't leave anything out._

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"I don't understand, baby," Lindsay furrowed her brow. "You've been to Montana before, _remember_."

"Babe, all I saw the first time I came to Montana was a courtroom a Holiday Inn lobby, and your face... among a few other things," he added with a wink. "I want to see everything. I wanna see where you grew up."

"But... there's really nothing to see." Lindsay insisted. "There's fields, some stores, a high school... a diner." She said the last word with a significant amount of pain attached to it.

"I know there's more than just that Lindsay; I wanna see all of it," he pressed a kiss to her temple. "I wanna see the place that made you who you are. The good and the bad memories..."

"Danny," Lindsay sighed as her cheeks flushed.

"I wanna see it Linds, I showed you everything."

"You showed me a baseball field, your high school and the Dairy Queen where you used to pin Sienna whats-her-face to the wall..."

"Mantovani," Danny added.

"I know her name," Lindsay spat. "I just choose to forget it."

"What?" He smirked. "Jealous?"

"No." She spat, a little too quickly. "Why would I be... jealous? Hah. I know you had girlfriends before me and I don't care..."

"So her name doesn't have anything to do with the fact you dislike Sienna that works in the lab then, no?"

"Danny, this is ridiculous. Stop fishing for an ego boost. So yes, maybe I am a little jealous, okay? But sue me, okay? I'm eight months pregnant with your baby girl and I'm allowed to be a little territorial when it comes to my husband. I don't like the thought of you screwing some girl against the wall in high school anymore than you like the thought of some guy screwing me up against the wall in college."

"Did that happen?" Danny asked with a raised brow, the look of possessiveness flashing across his face as he inquired about something he wasn't sure he wanted the answer to.

"On occasion." She shrugged, "But that isn't the point."

"It isn't?" He huffed as he crossed his arms over his chest. "Sure seems like it is"

"Ugh!" she cried as she threw a pillow at him. "Are we seriously doing this? Getting jealous over exes from twenty years ago?"

"When the hell did you sleep with someone Linds? When you were eleven?"

"Give me strength!" Lindsay growled at him. "I thought twenty sounded better than ten, alright?"

Smirking, Danny shuffled closer to her as they sat together on the couch. "You were twenty one? Aaaww, Linds. That's cute."

"Jerk, you know I was." She scowled at him. "And so what if I was twenty one? What do you care? At least I wasn't sixteen... at a push."

"Hey, I had to fill the void of you not being in my life somehow, baby."

Rolling her eyes, Lindsay simply let his insistence win this time. "Fine, but only because I have to pick up a few things, ok? This isn't you winning, nor is it me giving in; let me make that clear..."

"Fine with me." He grinned as he stood from the couch and offered her a hand to help her up. "I knew you'd give in, babe."

"Jackass." She grinned as she swatted him on his arm. "Get the keys, you're driving."

"Yes dear."

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Listening contently to the crunch of the gravel underneath the tyres, Lindsay felt a warm feeling within her. Cooper Park. If her life depended on it, she wouldn't be able to calculate the hours she'd spent in the park. The small nature and size had given her parents the security that she wasn't going far, but it gave her enough freedom in her younger years to spend time with her friends and act like a kid – which worked perfectly for both parties. She'd mastered the art of her sling-shot skills in this very park, lying underneath the many trees, aiming at squirrels... until she realised what it was she was doing – then of course aimed her assault at her brothers and friends that were boys...

She'd also spent quite the fair few hours sat at a picnic bench with her parents, friends, siblings, grandparents... everyone she knew. As soon as a warm spring day hit, her mother would have had the picnic blanket airing on the porch and it was one of _those_ feelings that sent a warm feeling throughout her entire body, knowing exactly what the day had in store for her.

Cooper Park held quite the place in Lindsay Monroe's heart.

"So..." Danny broke Lindsay's silence as she basked in her many memories. "I see a tree."

"Smartass," Lindsay giggled. "This is Cooper Park."

"I see that," Danny smirked as he pointed towards a sign. "My observation skills are in overdrive today."

"Cooper Park would be where I did most of my growing up, thank you very much." She huffed as she swatted him on the arm. "C'mon... I'll show you where our spot was."

They disembarked from the car together; Danny rushing to Lindsay's side to help her out of the car as best he could, before locking it and re-taking her hand.

The couple strolled in step to the other over the loose gravel, Lindsay taking in the opportunity to inhale the fresh air that surrounded them.

"Can you smell that?"

"Smell what?" Danny sniffed. "Grass?"

Lindsay cocked a brow at him and shook her head. "City Boy."

"What you mean by that, Montana?"

"The fact that the smell of freshly cut grass doesn't do a thing for you... sometimes Messer, you make me wonder whether we really are two opposites."

"And two opposites make a whole... so we're perfect." Danny smirked before pressing a kiss to her knuckles, "And you know that we're not that different."

She smiled as she laid her head against his shoulder, she squeezed his hand affectionately before tugging him along and gesturing for him to sit down at a nearby bench, shaded by a huge tree.

"That tree there is where I used to do all of my homework in high school over the summer months."

"Really?" Danny smiled. "Do they not believe in desks or..."

"Danny!" She cried as she smacked him on the arm. "It was our way of pretending we were older than what we were. All the MSU students used to flock here the second we got some warm weather, and... well, we wanted to be college girls... so we flocked here the second the warm weather started."

"Wasn't it... hard?" Danny smiled at his wife. "You know, doing homework outside."

"Not really, Kelly, Lily and I used to just sit and balance our textbooks on our knees. Kate never really came with us... her Mom was really protective. Someone from Kate's youth group once fell into the stream and Kate's mom was a little wary of Kate going anywhere after that..."

"Oh..." Danny trailed off as his eyes drifted across to the tree, imagining a younger Lindsay sat there with her friends, enjoying life – and enjoying them before they were so brutally stolen from her.

"It's funny," Lindsay giggled. "We'd always get pulled up on having dirty textbooks from the soil."

"But you did it anyway?" Danny smirked.

"Honestly? It made us do it even more."

"Haven't changed much, have ya, babe?" Danny chuckled as he pulled her into his side and pressed a kiss to her temple. "Always been a stubborn little thing."

She flashed him a smile as she settled into his side. "We'd been working on a project for the beginning of senior year. We'd finished it because of Kelly going away for the summer and we had all been really into it. I remember having to go back the first day of senior year without them, pretend like nothing had happened and present it myself because I wanted us all to pass that class... not that it mattered, but it was the last thing I had left of what we used to be before everything that had happened. We'd gone out the night they got shot and we'd promised to ourselves we wouldn't talk about this project we'd spent like an entire month on."

"Did you present it?"

"We all got A's." Lindsay smiled. "The teacher was new and didn't know what had happened. She had just observed the presentation as if it was me being dedicated and doing it while my friends were off sick. It took her about four weeks to realise that the chances of them coming were pretty slim."

"Four weeks? Was she smokin' crack? It seriously took her four weeks?"

Lindsay nodded. "Because everything was hush-hush about the shooting, she had no clue. She asked me if my friends were ever planning to show up, and rather than reply with a smartass answer like I wanted to, I asked her if I could talk about it to her after school finished and by that time I'd managed to get to the school newspaper special that they did for them after it happened and just let her read it."

"What did she say?"

"Nothing." Lindsay smiled. "She just filed it away on her desk and hugged me."

"Which teacher was this?"

"My science teacher." Lindsay smiled. "Ms. Rhodes."

"I have a sneaky feeling that smile is about to tell me another story."

"It might..." Lindsay blushed slightly before settling against him on the bench in a different position. "Because she was newly qualified teacher she really wanted to show science in a different light, so she arranged a bunch of trips over the semester before applications to colleges started, so we could be thinking about science as a major."

"Good tactic." Danny nodded.

"Well, she arranged one to a crime lab to show that science doesn't have to be just science... that it can be part of a bigger picture." Lindsay smiled at the memory. "I just remember my stomach flipping when I saw everything that they were doing with science and how it was a way of bringing justice to someone's family."

"I get the sneaky feeling Linds, that the trip Ms. Rhodes organised was for your benefit."

"So do I," Lindsay admitted. "It gave me a real... ambition, and I think she knew that."

"So you knew from that point you wanted to be a crime scene investigator?"

"No," Lindsay snorted. "I didn't even know it was a job. I didn't really know what I wanted to do. I knew I would have liked to work in a lab somewhere; analysing evidence – but I had no idea other than that. I just kind of fell into crime scene when I was on a work placement with the Bozeman PD, I was supposed to just be observing the lab for my lab class, but I got to go out on a few crime scenes and I was beside myself. I knew I absolutely had to get into this field of work."

"And when my girl gets an idea into her head, there's no stoppin' her," Danny smiled as he pressed a kiss to her temple.

"The day I graduated college the head of the crime lab turned up at my graduation party, a job offer in his hand."

"Well shit, if only it was that easy for the rest of us... the head of the crime lab seekin' Miss Monroe out."

"I'd left an impression." Lindsay smirked. "I'd kept in touch and was relentless in asking them if they ever needed an extra pair of hands, but they never could because I wasn't properly trained and the whole compromising of evidence."

"But the second you graduated..."

"I got a job." Lindsay smiled. "Started as the low girl on the totem pole, but soon made my way up the ladder."

"And then Mac Taylor sought you out."

Lindsay winked at him. "Best decision Mac ever made if you ask me."

"If you wasn't meanin' that in the way I think you are-"

"I was," Lindsay giggled as she brushed a kiss to his lips. "Now come on, I've got something else I want to show you."

* * *

Jack Monroe let out a contented sigh as he basked in the silence of his home. Dana was at the store, Lindsay and Danny were out exploring – and the rest of his children were no-where to be seen.

Leaving him with just a few moments of glorious silence to reflect on the past few days.

If he was honest with himself he'd been dreading officially meeting this Mr. Messer he'd heard so much about. Granted the good that Lindsay told him had outweighed the bad – but there was bad, and for Jack Monroe, that's all there was. Danny had hurt his baby girl, therefore he needed to suffer – that was at least his thinking when Danny called just days ago.

However...

Danny had not once, but twice flown out on a whim to his baby girl; and surprised her both times. And that had got Jack thinking; slowly changing his mind.

And then... when he met the man himself. Well... He wasn't quite what Jack had expected. He'd seen the pictures, but he'd seen a lot of pictures of Lindsay's life in New York, and while he tried to remember names and faces – he just couldn't... but Danny; Danny was a good looking boy – and they suited. His Lindsay and Danny were clearly a perfect fit.

It was evident on the young man's face that when he had arrived, he was absolutely exhausted from flying all day – but it didn't faze him. He was polite, appreciative and obviously head over heels in love with Lindsay. They'd spent a significant amount of time on the drive, observed by Jack and Dana secretly, until they made a move into the house. To which he then introduced himself with a warm handshake to Jack and a hug to Dana – which Jack knew meant a lot to his wife – giving Danny another brownie point.

He'd tried in conversing with Lindsay's parents, telling him all about himself, his parents, their granddaughter and all of his big plans – but it was just so obvious that Lindsay wanted her husband all to herself, it made it difficult to chat to him, and eventually Jack gave up and ushered the two to bed with a smile on his face. Another brownie point for Danny Messer...

But what had sealed the deal for Jack was the conversation they'd shared when Lindsay had gone off to find her mother. Jack had completely set on laying into Danny in regards to everything he'd done to Lindsay. It was clear though that he was feeling the imminent conversation, and nerves radiated off the poor thing – telling Jack he knew _exactly_ what he'd done. And how sorry he was for what he had done.

Instantly, the anger that Jack felt simmering at this person who'd hurt his daughter melted away. With the more that he spoke to Danny, the more likeable he became. It was obvious to see what Lindsay loved about him – and it was even more obvious to see all the things that Danny loved about Lindsay. The fact that it was the little things that Danny had seemed to pick up on left Jack with a settling feeling that the first impression he'd had of Danny was so completely wrong.

When Danny said: _"... and the mistakes I've made in the past won't be ones that I'm gonna repeat. I promise."_ Jack struggled in mentioning anything more on the topic. The fact that Danny had brought it up and made it known to Jack that he had made mistakes, gave him a reassurance that he made the right decision in having their first real conversation in an amicable way. There would always be the chance to show Danny the shot-gun collection – even if just for a joke, but Danny Messer... Danny was a good guy. And for his baby girl that's all he could ask for.

Stretching in his worn and well-loved chair, Jack let out a yawn and shut off the TV via the remote and settled comfortably, ready for a nice nap.

"We came as soon as we heard!" A familiar voice screeched through the front door.

"Where the hell are they?" Another sounded.

"Heard what?" Jack asked with a raised brow, pissed that his nap was over so soon.

"We don't have enough time for this talk," Brad cried dramatically. "I'll check the upstairs."

"We'll check downstairs," Kyle added to the conversation.

"Ahhhh!" Haley cried as she tugged Kyle through the house. "They've gotta be here!"

"If you mean a certain east coast visitor and your sister then you just missed them." Jack quipped; on the verge of kicking his three rambunctious children out of the house.

"NO!" Brad cried, lacing his fingers through his locks and falling to his knees. "No!"

"But... but... where did they go?" Kyle cried.

"They wanted to go places and pick up some things in town." Jack paused. "Listen to me - I don't want any of you giving him any of your usual crap, alright? He flew all the way out here for her, k?"

"You say that like it's a surprise. We had bets on, Dad." Haley smirked.

"Bets?" Jack prompted.

"Yeah, how long it'd take for him to show up." Brad finished. "Kyle won."

"Fuck yes I did," He punched their air. "Hundred bucks I made myself."

"That's a wonderful idea," Jack nodded, "A hundred dollars would buy them such an array of things. She's so lucky to have brothers and a sister like you guys."

"I don't think he understood you." Haley craned her neck to face Kyle.

"No, neither do I." Brad smirked.

"Oh no, I understood." Jack chortled. "I'm just choosing to make you feel bad on betting on your sister."

"Jackass." Kyle muttered. "I was goin' to buy myself somethin' real pretty with that."

"Well we got out of buying them a wedding gift so maybe you clowns can go do that today."

"Dad!" Kyle cried pathetically. "Are you bein' serious?"

"Deadly." He narrowed his eyes. "I really like this guy, and he's amazing for your sister – it's the very least you idiots can do for her."

"I've bought quite the sufficient amount of stuff as Auntie Haley, thank you very much Dad."

"Buy them a hundred dollars worth of diapers then," Jack said as he twisted in his chair. "Now make sure you shut the door when you guys leave. Mom's preparing dinner tonight... best behaviour. Am I clear?"

"Yes sir," His three eldest children replied.

"Danny hasn't met any of you and he's part of this family now. You treat him like crap and you won't hear the end of it."

"Dad, we get it," Brad sighed. "Most welcoming you've ever seen... polite... friendly."

"Good," Jack smiled. "Glad we're on the same page... now, I've got a job for you all."

* * *

"So what's this?"

"The watering hole." Lindsay giggled. "I stood right there once," she pointed to a paved stone on the sidewalk, "and threw up."

"You remember where you threw up? That's disgusting."

"It was my freshman year." Lindsay explained. "We'd finished our first mid-term and had planned on getting absolutely wasted."

"You managed it then?" Danny smirked.

"Nope." Lindsay shook her head. "I never got to get wasted..."

"But I thought you threw up."

"I did... my lunch... I was the one they couldn't take anywhere."

"Well yeah, I mean you went to a bar and didn't even drink before throwing up."

"That's enough out of you." Lindsay scowled as she elbowed him. "You sound like... oh God, what was his name?"

"Cowboy Bill?" Danny mused, unimpressed with the smile that tugged at Lindsay's lips as she searched her memory for her friend's name. "Bobby Joe? Or something equally as manly and country, making me feel completely inadequate."

"Will!" she exclaimed. "Will Brookes."

"Fantastic," Danny muttered. "And will we be running into Will Brookes?"

"I'm not sure; it's been a while since I last saw him."

"Walk of shame too embarrassing?" Danny growled.

"Danny!" she spat as she slapped him on the arm.

"What?"

Instead of answering, Lindsay bit her lip as she peered into the closed bar.

"Linds?"

"You see that?" She pointed through the window.

Stepping closer to the bar, Danny pressed his forehead against the glass of the window and peered into the sports bar. "See what?"

"The billiard tables."

"Yep," Danny nodded. "What about 'em?"

"I learnt how to play pool there." She smiled brightly. "Will was an expert."

Danny nodded, a blank but hurt look displayed across his face. After observing the bar for a few minutes, he turned and leant with his back against the place that held a lot of memories (some extremely hazy) for his wife.

"Is there something wrong?" Lindsay pressed as she slid her fingertips down Danny's arm and linking their fingers together as she reached his hand. She squeezed his affectionately, trying to get him to loosen up.

"No." He snapped. "Why would there be _anything_ wrong?"

"Well, because you're practically steaming... and you're bright red. You don't even go red when you're mad at work."

"I just don't like the idea of some guy bent over you, checkin' you out and teachin' you how to play pool. I like to think it was me who taught you how to play pool. Pool is our thing."

"Danny..."

"No Linds, pool is our thing and you should have just let me think that it was me that has been the only one to ever check you out while leanin' over you and helpin' you make a shot. That's something special for us. We used to go to that Billiards place in Queens all the time and you made it out like I taught you."

"I was playing dumb back then, I wanted you to want to be close to me, and you seemed to love teaching me how to make a shot. It made me feel like you liked me as much as I liked you."

"I did like you! Hell, I_ really _liked you!" Danny growled. "But now all I picture is some douche-bag checkin' you out."

"Danny-"

"I don't know whether I wanna see anythin' else," Danny admitted. "I'm a little... I'm not feelin' it anymore." He said before turning on his heel and letting Lindsay's hand slip through his. "Let me lick my wounds and you can show me the rest some other ti-"

"Danny," Lindsay cut him off. "Will never used to check me out."

"Lindsay, you're either really naive or Will was an expert in sneakin' looks when you weren't looking. I've seen pictures. There's no way he didn't check you out."

"Danny, honestly... Will never checked me out."

"Montana, c'mon... you're not helpin' alright, let's just... let's go."

"Danny, Will never check me out... he checked my boyfriend out though."

Danny's mouth hung open as he slowly turned back to face her. "What?"

"He was gay, babe... still is actually as far as I know."

"So you never dated him?"

Lindsay snorted. "That's like me asking you if you'd ever dated Stella."

"Montana that would _never _happen!"

"Exactly!" Lindsay snorted. "Come here you big oaf," she giggled as she took hold of his hand and squeezed it. "God, you make me laugh with your jealous caveman tendencies."

"I just... I don't like the idea of you being some piece of ass that frat boys messed with."

"Baby, they never messed with me. I messed with them... I am a Messer after all," she nudged him with a wink.

"Smooth," he chuckled.

"Will was never ever someone I would have even considered dating, Danny. There's nothing for you to be jealous of, k?"

He nodded.

"Pool has always been our thing and I wouldn't take that away from you, because I'd be taking it away from myself as well." Her finger pinched his chin and brought him close to press a kiss to his lips. "Are you done licking your wounds?"

"I was kind of pathetic then, wasn't I?"

"No," She shook her head. "Just..."

"You can't lie baby; you're so bad at it!" he teased. "And I know I was actin' like a kid."

"Well you were," she admitted, "but that was only because us playing pool is something that's special. It'd be the same if you told me you'd taught some girl how to ride your bike on the pier in Staten Island because that's special to me, and I don't want to imagine you doing that with some other girl."

"I mean it doesn't make it any better, knowing some dude was bending over you, but I at least know he wasn't checkin' you out."

Lindsay shook her head as she snuggled into his side. "You make me giggle."

"I'm glad I make you do somethin'," he teased as they made their way down the street together. "So, what's this?" he gestured to the street.

"Main Street."

"You know, I think everywhere has a Main Street."

"Possibly," Lindsay giggled. "It's so amazing in December. Every year they close the whole street off to traffic and people walk, shop and buy food and drinks from stalls and stuff. It's a really social thing and everyone gets involved. It's so cute."

"And so small-town." Danny commented. "Could you imagine Broadway stopping traffic so that we could buy a hot chocolate and talk to a Japanese business man in the middle of the road about what the Johnson's did last week?"

Lindsay's snorts told Danny everything he needed to know.

"What else do they do then?"

"Well, the stores get decorated with lights and stuff... and everyone sings carols... The grandpas in town usually take it in turns to play Santa, and for the past few years there was enough snow for a horse pulled sleigh, then they give rides up and down the street... my horse was used when I was about ten. I actually thought I was the coolest person known to mankind."

"Because you were." Danny smirked as he pulled her into his side and pressed a kiss to her temple. "So it's a big thing then?"

"Oh yeah, God..." Lindsay smiled in retrospect. "Some of my favourite Christmas memories are of Christmas Stroll. One year I didn't think it was that cold and didn't wear my two sweaters and coat like my Mom had told me to... She busted me the next day when I had a really bad cold."

"What did you wear?"

"Not enough apparently; she was so mad," Lindsay recalled. "I genuinely feared for my life."

"I can't imagine your mom getting mad for one second."

"Oh she's this lovely little Nana figure now but back when I was a kid she ran a tight ship."

"I doubt that," Danny shook his head. "I've seen pictures – you were the cutest kid, there's no way you didn't get away with shit."

"Oh, you'd be surprised. I had my dollies confiscated all the time. In fact, my Daddy had my dolls more than what I did."

"Lindsay Monroe: the child rebel. Who knew?"

"You're such an idiot."

"At least I'm not a rebel."

"Actually, Mr. Messer, I do think you'll find you're the definition of rebel. Instead of rebel in the dictionary, they just have a picture of your beautiful face."

"Beautiful?" Danny shook his head. "Really Linds?"

"To me you're beautiful."

"Handsome. Hot. Hell, I could even take gorgeous... but beautiful? Baby... c'mon now."

Laughing as she re-took his hand, she led him across the road and into a quaint little park.

"What's this then?" Danny laughed. "Another place that was graced with little Lindsay Monroe's presence?"

"Shut up," she growled. "I thought you wanted to see places."

"I do, but babe... a park's a park... and no other park beats Central Park."

"But this park has a story behind it." She reasoned.

He relented on his teasing, giving her the chance to share her story with him. "Alright then, I'm all ears."

"Don't tease me," she huffed. "I don't _have _to tell you."

"I want you to though babe..." He back-peddled. "C'mon sweetheart."

She narrowed her eyes before sighing and beginning her story. "I always wanted my first kiss to be in this exact spot," she paused, as Danny circled his arms around her, pulling her close. "I don't know why. I mean you know yourself I'm not particularly romantic, and my younger self was by no means romantic."

"Just something you'd set your hopes on." Danny offered in explanation.

"Yeah, I guess so."

"So what happened?" Danny pressed. "Did you get your first kiss here?"

Lowering her gaze, Lindsay shook her head slowly. "No, not quite."

"Not quite?"

"Junior Prom," Lindsay began. "I went with my boyfriend."

"Why do I feel like I'm not going to enjoy this story?"

Lindsay smiled shyly at him. "Because it includes a boyfriend that isn't you...?"

"Sounds about right," he nodded. "So okay, Junior Prom – you're what?"

"Seventeen, Danny..."

"And your father let you date?"

"Yes, Danny," She mused. "And as much as you hate it, so will our baby girl..."

"Wanna bet?"

"How did that work out for you last time?" She smirked.

Danny opened his mouth to protest but promptly closed it. "Touché... So this boyfriend; what he did he do to my girl?"

"Well," Lindsay began dramatically. "Kelly had done the groundwork in making sure he knew what the deal was. Her boyfriend was best friends with mine, so it worked well."

"Perfectly," Danny added. "Double dates and all that cutesy stuff..."

Nudging him in the side with her elbow, Lindsay shot him a look.

"Hey, am I right?"

She sighed heavily.

"Sorry, sorry. You were sayin'?"

Taking a breath, Lindsay rolled her eyes before continuing on. "So, Kelly had arranged for him to meet me in this spot before prom."

"Alright?" Danny nodded, waiting for her to continue. When she didn't he narrowed his eyes, intensifying his gaze. "He didn't turn up did he?"

She shook her head slowly.

"What was this kid's name?"

"Jeremy." Lindsay replied with a sigh.

"Last name?"

"Jeremy Cook..." she replied. "Why is that relevant? Are you going to track him down in the phone-book and have words or something?"

"No," Danny shook his head. "No, I just needed a name to the image I've got of the douche-bag."

"He was really immature," Lindsay explained. "And one of my brother's friends took me to prom, so it didn't completely ruin my night."

"But it wasn't how you wanted your Junior Prom to go..."

"No, no it wasn't... but Brad came through for me. I got to take the college boy and Jeremy didn't know what to do with himself."

"Jeremy was there?" Danny spat in disbelief. "Are you for real?"

Lindsay nodded. "He'd taken his next-door neighbour that always flirted with him... I wasn't good enough."

"Please, I don't believe that shit for a second. You not good enough? Lindsay – anyone would be absolutely insane not to be head over heels in love with you. Hell, I know I am."

"I wasn't good enough in another sense..."

Danny narrowed his eyes before smiling. "You wouldn't have sex with him, would you?"

She shook her head. "No."

"You've got no idea how proud I am of high school Montana," Danny smirked. "Please can we tell this story to our daughter?"

"What how her Mom got stood up for her Junior Prom? No, I don't think so."

"No..." he sighed. "That her Mom respected herself enough not to just sex it up with some immature jerk-off."

"Sex it up? Really?" Lindsay teased, sticking her tongue out at her husband. "Can we leave that conversation to me, please? I dread to even think what you'd come out with."

"So what happened then?" Danny asked, changing the subject back to their previous topic.

"With who – Jeremy?"

"Yeah, what happened?"

Lindsay smiled. "Kelly's boyfriend knocked him out the next day... told him he needed a little more respect for someone so amazing."

"And he was Kelly's boyfriend? ...you sure about that?"

Lindsay nodded. "Yep, they dated the whole way through high school more or less... until..."

"Until..." Danny nodded in understanding. "What did Kelly say?"

"Nothing... her fist did all the talking."

Danny's eyes widened. "She didn't..."

"Oh she did." Lindsay laughed. "Twice... James, Kelly's boyfriend, gave him a black eye and Kelly made sure she gave him a matching one... and a bloody nose."

"Damn..." Danny shook his head. "And the place you wanted your first kiss. Was in this exact spot?"

Lindsay nodded. "Yep, right here."

"And did you ever get your kiss here?"

She shook her head. "No I never got the chance t-"

Lindsay never got to finish her sentence... but she did get her kiss.

* * *

**There we go - a MASSIVE chapter for you guys. I hoped you liked it and didn't feel like it was overload. I just didn't know where to stop with it - but I found a good place, and next chapter will be a continuation of this one. hah. Yes, I did manage to think of more things... shocker! But yeah, I hope you guys enjoyed it and I'd love to know what you all thought :) **

**Thanks for reading! **


	60. She Ain't Right

**A/N: Hi guys! It's been a while - huh? Well, I psyched myself out epically tonight through watching Paranormal Activity 2 (DO NOT GO AND SEE IT!) so rather than sleeping (because that's not happening - and if it does, I'm sleeping with the effing light on) I thought I would tweak this chapter that's been sat half finished for about two weeks. **

**And while I'm rambling on – the last part of this chapter is dedicated to** brendanakai**– I owe you about 10 replies to your reviews, and in my head I always replied telling you that I would make sure I worked in your lovely idea, but then I'd never get around to it – so here you go sweetie! This one is for you! I hope it was worth the wait and it isn't too different to what you were wanting. Don't be surprised if I work it in again, so if it wasn't quite what you were looking for, never fear - I'm sure we'll return to the idea! lol **

**In other news - a huge thank you to all of you still following this story. I hope you're all still enjoying it. Special hugs and mentions to: **saderia, hannqhn, Berry-Very, Aveo amacus, Dine89, Megan, afrozenheart412, 18lzytwner, brendanakai & ZoeyBug.** You guys have no idea how much all your lovely comments mean to me! :) **

* * *

**She Ain't Right – Lee Brice **

_She got her daddy's tongue and temper; sometimes her mouth could use a filter. God shook his head the day he built her, oh, but I bet he smiled._

* * *

Blinking, Lindsay briefly paused. It was taking her a little longer than it should have to register why Danny had pulled her in for a kiss. He'd kissed her so randomly and unexpectedly it had taken her breath away. But as Danny's lips softly caress her's, it all clicked into place. Tears burned her closed eyelids as she tangled her fingers through his hair, bringing him closer to her. She could feel his tongue skim her lips and she instantly allowed him access; intensifying their kiss.

Danny Messer had done a lot of things for her in the past, but it would take a hell of a lot to top what he'd just done.

"You were supposed to have your first kiss here with me." Danny whispered against her lips and finally breaking their kiss. "That's why Jeremy did what he did. Dick!"

Lindsay simply responded by sealing her lips to his. After a few passed minutes, she broke away and giggled. "That would have been absolutely perfect had you not added that last word."

"I just don't know where he gets off thinkin' he could treat my wife like that."

"He's not even worth talking about... trust me." She smiled, butterflies fluttering in her stomach. "Not even worth it."

"How do you mean?" Danny asked with a raised brow. "That sounded like you know somethin' but you're keeping it quiet."

"It's irrelevant," she shrugged. "Let's go home," Lindsay smiled. "I'm getting sleepy."

Pressing a kiss to the tip of her nose, Danny nodded. "You mind if I make just one more stop, babe? It'll be quick."

"You want to make a stop?" She asked with an arched eyebrow. "Where?"

"It's a surprise." He smiled.

* * *

"There ain't nothin'," Kyle muttered.

"For you maybe," Haley quipped as she popped her head around a shelf. "C'mon Kyle, Linds is havin' a baby..."

"But I had already spent that Benjamin in my head."

"Kyle," Haley growled. "I will give you a damn Benjamin next pay check alright – do this for Linds."

"You've changed your tune," Brad smirked as he read the specifications of a set of baby monitors. "I thought you didn't like Danny."

"How I feel about Danny doesn't stop Lindsay from being pregnant, Bradley."

"How come you don't like him?" Kyle pressed. "We haven't even met the guy yet, give him a chance, Hales."

"You might not remember what he did to her Kyle, but I do."

"Hales we're not saying we don't remember what he did, we want to smush his face against a window and beat the crap out of him for doing what he did..."

Both Kyle and Haley turned towards Brad with arched brows.

"Smush? Really Brad?"

"Smush has less violent connotations, Haley." Brad reasoned. "And the way I see it, Lindsay wants to spend the rest of her life with him; she obviously really loves him and he may have just made a mistake. We've gotta give the guy a chance."

"I'll let you take the high road," Haley shrugged. "You can do the male bonding like Dad did and I'll actually stick up for Linds."

"Haley," Kyle shook his head, "C'mon kiddo, they're over it, don't bring the past up when it's really got nothing to do with us..."

"I'm not bringing it up, and don't start making me out to be something I'm not guys. I'm protective of her – you both know that, and I'm not going to let him just meet us and get away scot free."

"Don't do anything, Hales." Brad sighed. "C'mon, if Kyle and I are giving him a break..."

"You sound like I'm going to dump his body somewhere... drama queen."

"The way you're carrying on, I wouldn't be surprised," Kyle snipped. "Just let's get this over and done with and get back... I dread to think what Dad's got us doin',"

"He's probably just psyching us out," Brad laughed. "You know what he's like."

"Yeah," Kyle shuddered. "And that's what worries me."

* * *

Killing the engine, Danny turned and smirked. "We're here."

"That's great." Lindsay smiled. "If only I could see where we are."

"All in good time, babe."

"You better not be dumping my body, Daniel."

"I'm not that sloppy... it'd be too juvenile. I'd get busted."

"At least you admit it," She smirked.

"Oh and you'd be any better?" Danny laughed. "I doubt it."

"Of course, I'm far better." She giggled. "C'mon Danny... I'm done messing around. Untie the scarf."

"I'm basking in the power."

"Well, don't let it go to your head," she smirked. "Really, any day would be fantastic..."

Slowly but surely, Danny untied the scarf around Lindsay's eyes, and watched her as she realised where he had driven them. A huge smile stretched across her face and she slowly shook her head, words failing her otherwise.

"Looks the same." Danny smiled to her as he squeezed her hand.

"Yeah, my Daddy really did a fantastic job with keeping the landscapers on task..."

"Wiseass," Danny smirked as he leant across the console and pressed a kiss to her temple. "It didn't occur to me you'd be staying in a hotel, k? Let it go..."

"Never!" She giggled as she tangled her fingers through his. "I mean I don't know whether it was a testament as to how tired you actually were... or whether you're just stupid."

"Stupid? Lindsay that... that hurt."

"Well, Danny come on; really? You really thought I lived at a Holiday Inn?"

"A part of me did," he blushed. "Linds, I was _so_ tired."

"Didn't stop you from exhausting yourself further," she winked.

"And I'd like to highlight and point out that my performance that night was stellar even though I was dead tired."

"Oh, I know." Lindsay smirked. "All three times."

"And then in the shower that morning."

"Would it be too trashy to rent a hotel room tonight?" she asked him as she looked through her eyelashes innocently.

"Your parents might notice us missing... but you know what? I'm okay with that." Danny smirked as he unbuckled his seat belt.

"Danny!" she cried. "I was joking, I didn't mean it."

Raising his eyebrow, Danny silently questioned her.

"Alright, so maybe I was half-joking." She laughed before turning a little more serious. "I'm so glad you came to save me,"

"Save you?"

She nodded. "My knight in shining armour."

"I wouldn't go that far," Danny shook his head in disbelief. "Maybe a loser in aluminium foil."

"Danny!" she scolded. "Don't sell yourself short, you were there when I needed you, and that means a lot to me."

"I just followed my instincts."

"If you say so," she rolled her eyes. "I personally think it's a lot more than that."

"Seriously though," Danny began, directing her off the topic slightly. "Who would have thought that a few years down the line we'd be here; married and expecting a baby?"

"I would have." Lindsay smiled.

"Well you know everything... it was more of a rhetorical question," he teased. "And anyway, I'm surprised you didn't put this on our sight-seeing itinerary. To be honest, it would have been on the top for me."

"You experienced this with me though," Lindsay reasoned. "I was showing you all the things you never got to see."

"Touché," Danny smiled. "I'll give you that one, babe, I quite like that reasoning."

She winked at him and curled her fingers around his over the console of the rental car. "I have the strongest sense of déjà vu."

Danny squeezed her hand in return and smiled, "Linds..."

"Yeah?"

"Look at which shirt I'm wearing."

Turning away from the hotel she'd been gazing at, Lindsay took in the colour of Danny's shirt and a bright smile shone from her face. "It's the same shirt you wore when you walked into the courtroom."

"Completely unintentional too." Danny grinned.

"Absolute lies." Lindsay snorted. "Subconsciously you wore that shirt for a reason."

"Yeah because it's the only thing I have that wasn't remotely creased."

"Because my Mom ironed it for you last night..."

"Busted..." Danny smirked.

"I know your score, Mr. Messer. You don't have me fooled. You brought everything creased so I'd sort you out."

"Can't get nothin' past you can I?"

She giggled softly, shaking her head at her husband.

"I love you babe."

Her features softened and she leaned across the console of the car and pressed a kiss to his cheek. "I love you too."

"Home?" He asked as he put the car into reverse.

"I'm not all that tired anymore," Lindsay admitted. "I have a better idea."

"Really?" he asked with a raised brow. "I thought you'd be exhausted."

"No," she shook her head, "Somehow I've got a new burst of energy; there's something I _really_ want to go and do."

"Public sex is not acceptable, Montana."

"Not that, smartass." She rolled her eyes as she shoved his arm away from her. She grabbed the GPS and entered her desired destination and re-stuck it to the windscreen. "Drive,"

"Yes dear." He smirked.

* * *

Linking his hand through Lindsay's, Danny let her lead the way through a parking lot she'd screeched he turned into just seconds before he realistically needed to make the turn.

"Where the hell are we goin'?" he cried. "I can't deal with no more cutesy little stores, baby... You gotta remember I'm a guy. I mean I'm amazing and all..."

"I know you're a little trooper," she smiled. "But I think you'll like this shop."

"Lindsay, I hate shopping."

"Not this type of shopping."

"Underwear shopping?" he cried in excitement.

"Ew, pervert!" she cried. "I'm eight months pregnant... are you insane?"

"You weren't singing that tune last night... In fact, I remember-"

"Laugh it up," she interrupted as they finally made it to the shop front. "Look. See!"

Danny's stubbornness and hesitance in having to withstand yet another store quickly melted away as his eyes absorbed what was in front of him.

"Linds, this is adorable!"

"See, I told you you'd like it."

"Why didn't you show me this earlier?" Danny asked. "Can we go in?"

"Duh," she giggled as she tugged him in the store behind her. "Now, do we have a limit?"

"Within reason," Danny sighed.

"What's that about? Sighing... how rude!"

"Linds, baby, every time we go shopping for the baby you ask me what the limit is, and every time I tell you the same thing."

"But, I just want to ask... so I know."

"Baby, I've said this before... if we can afford it, then whatever you want is yours."

She smiled and pressed a kiss to his cheek as she excitedly made her way into the adorably quaint baby store on a little side street.

"Lindsay!" The curvy woman behind the small counter exclaimed with excitement. "Oh Lindsay, I was hoping I'd see you again before you jetted off to the big apple again... I bet it's wonderful... and look at you – you're huge! That means a healthy baby you know... and who's this? Are you Danny?"

"Hi Julie," Lindsay smiled, finally able to get a word in edge-ways with the excitable woman. Taking Danny's hand from it's position on her side; keeping her in front of him as a form of protection, she tugged him to her side and nudged him forwards towards the woman. "This is my husband, Danny."

"DANNY!" Julie exclaimed. "Oh Lindsay, he's... you're quite the catch aren't you? Are you Lindsay's baby daddy? Oh my... Lindsay your baby is going to be beautiful."

"Oh no, he's not the father," Lindsay shook her head.

Julie's mouth dropped and eyes widened; as did Danny's at her admission.

"It's alright though," she laid her hand over Danny's hand. "It's all good."

"Oh that's nice," The small woman nodded nervously, obviously uncomfortable with Lindsay's admission. "Lovely. Nice. Nice to see. How nice."

"Yep," Lindsay smiled.

"Well, if you need anything I'll be right here... Lovely to see you Lindsay."

"Yeah, you too Julie."

Danny, whose jaw was still scraping the floor mindlessly followed Lindsay as she headed towards one of the little displays tucked behind a row of shelves.

"What the actual fuck was that?" Danny spat, trying to keep his voice down, but his agitation and upset raising his tone slightly. "Seriously Linds; what the fuck?"

"The town gossip," Lindsay whispered as she held a blanket set up in admiration. "Might as well give her some controversy... that's what she was looking for anyway."

"And little Lindsay Monroe getting married and her husband being in town isn't enough?"

"You don't live in Bozeman," she shrugged before handing him a pink rubber duck and continued browsing the quaint baby store.

Looking down at the unnecessary thing Lindsay had just handed him, Danny shook his head and placed it back on the shelf before following her. "But babe!" he cried. "Why... why did you say that?"

"When I was seventeen, one of my friends... well, she got herself into a predicament." She began to explain as she handed him a baby monitor.

"Okay..." Danny nodded as he accepted it and balanced it so that anything else Lindsay would hand him could fit on top. "And? What does she want? A medal?"

Lindsay laughed sarcastically as she balanced a pink light fitting on top of the baby monitor. "No... no, far from it."

"Alright, so what?"

"Remember me telling you about Jeremy?"

Danny nodded.

"Julie is Jeremy's mom."

"Bitchwhore,"

"Daniel!" Lindsay cried as she thumped him in the arm, causing him to drop the baby monitor and light fitting crashing to the floor.

"Fuckin' hell, Lindsay! That hurt!"

"Are you two okay?"

"We're fine, Julie, thanks!" Lindsay called before turning to Danny. "Babe, go switch them out."

"What the hell's gotten into you?" he implored.

"You want our daughter to have a damaged light or baby monitor?"

"No..."

"Well then," she huffed.

He turned on his heel and shoved the two boxes back on the shelves and picked up two new items. He caught up with her on the next aisle and gently lowered his voice. "Alright, so Julie is Jeremy's mom... what's that got to do with your friend?"

"Well, Julie hasn't always worked here."

"Okay..."

"She used to work at the pharmacy."

"Okay... and – does she need a medal for that?"

"What's this with you and your medals?" Lindsay giggled. "No, she worked in a pharmacy... and I had a friend in trouble."

"What you being all cryptic for?"

"She got herself pregnant and I bought her a pregnancy test. Jesus Danny, I thought we were on the same wave-length."

"Oh no, I knew exactly what you were meaning..." Danny smirked. "I just wanted to make you say it."

"Jerk," Lindsay smacked him on the arm again.

"Spousal abuse!" Danny cried. "Call the authorities!"

"Knock it off," Lindsay smirked. "You're makin' a scene."

"You were tellin' me a story," Danny reminded her. "So, she saw you buy the pregnancy test?"

"Yeah, and because she knew Jeremy and I had broken up, she put two and two together and got seventy five and told everyone I was pregnant."

"But you two didn't have sex..." Danny reminded his wife. "And going off what I learnt in science and health class... you've gotta be pretty damn unlucky to fall pregnant if you haven't had sex... ignoring of course the fact that it's completely impossible."

"My sentiments exactly."

"So what did Kelly do? Punch her?"

"Ha-ha," Lindsay chortled sarcastically. "No, my Dad had stern words with Jeremy, telling him to shut his mother up."

"Lovely." Danny smirked. "Did I ever mention that I'm quite fond of your Daddy, Lindsay?"

"Briefly," she giggled.

"So your thinking in telling her that you got pregnant by somebody else is that...?"

"My Daddy can go have words and tell her to fix her muzzle."

"Lindsay Messer, I do love you." Danny smirked.

"I love me too," she giggled.

"But that doesn't make up for the fact that you kinda cut me deep there for a minute."

"Sorry baby," she apologised as she stood on her tip-toes and pressed a kiss to his cheek. "I didn't really think about what I was saying and how it would upset you."

"No," he huffed. "You didn't."

She pursed her lips for a moment, feeling the tension and awkwardness between the two of them and a pink tinge began to rise in her cheeks as embarrassment set in. Her eyes searched Danny's desperately, trying to find a way to build a bridge.

"So, you were quite the little madam then." He began, realising she was genuinely mortified by what she'd said without really thinking. "Not having sex. Helping a friend out in her time of need... Not going to wild raving parties every night of the week."

"Ha-ha," she laughed sarcastically. "You're married to quite the rebel."

"Was she pregnant by the way?"

Lindsay bit her lip. "Victoria wasn't exactly the most academic of people."

"Well, that's a little unfair, it doesn't mean she can't get pregnant, Lindsay."

"I understand that Danny," Lindsay smirked. "But babe, judging by what she and what her latest hook up had engaged in, they'd have to be pretty strong swimmers."

"They... they didn't?"

Lindsay shook her head slowly. "No... no, going down on someone doesn't usually end in pregnancy."

"Lindsay Messer!" Danny scolded loudly. "The mouth on you; what the hell's gotten into you?"

"Ask a stupid question..." she trailed off, handing him a packet of glow in the dark stars. "These are cute, right?"

"If we want to scare the crap out of her maybe..." Danny laughed. "How you planning on getting all this stuff back, babe?"

"Ship it," she rolled her eyes. "Did you not see all the stuff my Mom and Haley bought?"

"I dared not to look... your Dad warned me not to."

"It's probably for the best," she nodded. "We still need to sort the Nursery out,"

"Yeah," Danny nodded in agreement, trying to hide the smile on his face. "Yeah we do."

Reaching the end of the last aisle, the couple re-emerged into the shop front and Danny's eyes rested on a nosy Julie, eagerly trying to eavesdrop on her only customers' conversation.

"She's such a bitch," Danny muttered into Lindsay's ear. "She's one of those people that make me want to punch a wall. Hard."

"Please don't," Lindsay laughed. "Aww, this is adorable," she gushed. "Look Danny."

Danny turned his gaze from where he was glaring at Julie and his eyes fell on Lindsay's hand, making a plush horse canter across the counter. "How cute is he?"

"Adorable," Danny supplied before turning his gaze back to Julie.

"Oh no dear," Julie exclaimed as she rushed over to where Lindsay was stood and swiped the horse out of her hand. "Your siblings were in here earlier. They bought all of this."

"Excuse me?" Lindsay spluttered. "Come again?"

"They bought all of this, among a few other things... paid with a hundred dollars... I was surprised. It's not often I get cash."

"Are you sure?" Lindsay asked. "Haley, Brad and Kyle?"

"Yeah, they even asked if they could pay extra for a shipping service to New York... gave me a Brooklyn address."

Danny and Lindsay shared a look between each other, giving Julie a second to continue on. "Yeah, they asked me to keep it on the down low too... is for a relative living in New York?"

"It's for her," Danny deadpanned as he pointed to Lindsay. "Jesus, did they pay extra for a side of stupid? Are you for real?"

"I don't understand."

"If they had it shipped to a New York address and asked you to keep it on the down low, wouldn't that suggest to you it was a surprise. What are you smokin' crack or something? Couldn't you just play along?"

"But..."

"They surprised her with baby stuff... she's pregnant and lives in New York... who the hell else would they be buying shit for? Jesus... I thought Lindsay was exaggerating when she was telling me all that stuff you did to her when she was a teenager, but she was totally right, you are a complete gossip; and a dimwit, and anything else you can describe a person like you. Well congratulations, you just ruined what would have been an absolutely incredible surprise. I hope you're happy with yourself." Danny turned and linked his fingers through Lindsay's. "C'mon baby girl, let's go."

Shoving the Horse down on the counter, Lindsay squeezed Danny's hand tightly before following him out of the shop.

"Is it true he's not the father?"

Lindsay stopped abruptly, red rising in her cheeks as she did so. She turned on her heel and cleared her throat; "Not that it has the _slightest_ to do with you, but yes, yes he is the father. I was screwing around with you earlier because I know exactly what you're like and I'd absolutely love for someone to pull you up on the bullshit you insist on spreading in this small town."

"Why did you say-"

"Because you're an idiot," Lindsay shook her head. "You've got nothing better to do with your time then to talk about other people's lives... and for that I pity you."

"So he's the father?"

"Yes," Danny laughed. "Want me to write that down for you there?"

"Well Lindsay, I think it's very immature of you to say such a thing."

Subconsciously taking a step in front of his wife, Danny stepped in and stopped Lindsay short of sticking up for herself. "Well, your son was immature to pressure Lindsay into having sex back in high school, but shit is shit, isn't it? Call it even."

"Jeremy wouldn't-"

"Save it," Danny snapped as he grabbed Lindsay's hand. "C'mon babe,"

Together, they headed out of the little baby store and fell into silence as they processed everything that had happened in their little exchange with Julie. They approached the car a little quicker than Lindsay would have liked too, and as he helped her into the car, she cringed. He slammed the door and made his way into the driver's side, and thrust the key into the ignition.

"Danny..." Lindsay looked to him desperately, her hand covering his, stopping him from turning the key. "Babe, please say something."

He turned to her with a smirk on his lips. "I can't take you anywhere."

"Danny," she cried. "Please be serious. I feel really bad. I was just being immature and-"

"You're right, you were totally immature," he began with a smile. "But there's nothing wrong with that."

"Danny," she whispered, a little tearfully. "Danny please, if you're mad I'd rather you just tell me."

"Baby," he reached over the console and pinched the tip of her nose. "Don't worry about it."

"But Danny-"

"Linds... listen to me; I'm not mad."

"But – what I said in there; it was horrible."

"So sometimes you need a filter," he shrugged. "And you can curse like a sailor while sporting a 'butter wouldn't melt' look. Sometimes you're silly and immature. Sometimes you're a drama queen... and sometimes there are times I think I can't take you anywhere - but you know what?"

"What?"

"I wouldn't have you any other way."

* * *

**A little random I feel after reading it back, but it's what Fred came up with, and I've come to realise there's no point in arguing with him! lol.. So hope you guys enjoyed; thanks for reading! :) **


	61. Fallin' For You

**A/N: ... wow it's been a while so it seems. Fred and I have another update for you! It was a toss up between this one and a different chapter (both are quite random) but this one won. I've been feeling majorly old-school DL nostalgic recently, so hence this creation. There's a lot of italics... sorry! Actually, I'd say 3/4 of this one is in italics, but what can you do? hehe. I haven't forgotten about the promise of Dinner with the Monroes, I just haven't been able to sit down and write it yet, so I'm stalling with other chapters that are at the forefront of my mind. **

**I think for the most part the flashbacks/italics are kind of self-explanatory. For the ones that aren't, they're just in the beginning of their relationship so to speak; not centred around any episode in particular, but - there are two specific ones - Snow Day and Boo - fairy dust to those of you who can figure out which they are.**

**(I realise that doesn't make ANY sense, I was singing along to my favourite song as I tried to type and tend not to make much sense when attempting to multi-task) **

**I hope you guys are all still enjoying this story here and are just as busy as what I am... (I'm good at procrastination - and this is a great form of such! hahah) Huge thank you to those of you who review and let me know what you think. I really, really appreciate. They're like little mini Christmas and birthday presents! hehe. Huggles to: **rhymenocerous, Sweet LIL loz, Lindsay1234, Saderia, rapidtetv, afrozenheart412, brendanakai, 18lzytwner, ZoeyBug, messermonroeforever125

* * *

**Fallin' For You – Colbie Callat**

_I don't know but I think I maybe__ f__allin' for you, dropping so quickly. Maybe I should keep this to myself; wait until I know you better. I am trying not to tell you but I want to: I'm scared of what you'll say. So I'm hiding what I'm feeling __but I'm tired of holding this inside my head. I've been spending all my time__ j__ust thinking about you, I don't know what to__: __I think I'm fallin' for you. I've been waiting all my life, and now I found you. I don't know what to do__I think I'm fallin' for you, I'm fallin' for you._

* * *

_Listening to the click of her heels against the clean tiles, Lindsay desperately tried to stop herself from inhaling the antiseptic that filled the air around her. Hospitals made her feel uncomfortable. It wasn't that she didn't like them – it was more of a discomfort of her surroundings. She'd been lucky in her life and really never had much of an experience in a hospital; bar from a broken arm when she was little. _

_However, the discomfort she usually felt was turning into something a little more... a little different. She figured her nonchalance with hospitals stemmed from never having a personal experience with one. She'd never lost anyone bar her friends, and even then she hadn't had to deal with a hospital. Knowing where she was heading, and why she was going filled her with a feeling of dread; with feelings she didn't actually realise she held._

'_Not now,' she thought to herself; knowing that the last thing she ideally needed was to be an emotional mess the second she walked through the door. _

_Bringing her knuckles into a fist, she lightly tapped on the door before letting herself in. "Hey,"_

"_Hey." _

"_You... do you want some company?"_

"_From you? Absolutely."_

_The emotions and uncertainty she felt in the pit of her stomach soon settled away at the chirpy tone of his voice. "So... what's the verdict?" she asked as she made her way into his room._

"_I got broken knuckles, a broken rib, a pair of broken glasses... a broken phone... a few cuts and bruises... a fat lip. But other than that, I'm chipper." _

"_Nothing much wrong with you then," Lindsay commented sarcastically as she set the card and can of coke on the bedside table. Upon Danny's questioning gaze, she blushed and took a seat next to his bed. "Coke was the first thing I grabbed that I thought you'd like and I keep Hallmark in business with my card buying.."_

"_Tell me something I don't know..." he teased. _

"_I clearly didn't think it through too well, considering you've got yourself a set of broken knuckles."_

"_Nah, it's sweet," Danny smiled. "It's the thought that counts. I'll open it when.. well, you know."_

"_I know," she nodded as she sat back in the chair settled next to his bed. _

"_Flack cursin' my name yet?" Danny laughed cautiously. "It's gonna be a boatload of paperwork for him."_

"_I think he's gunning for yours and Adam's heads on a combined platter to be honest." _

"_Figures. Jackass." _

"_He's glad you're okay deep down," she shrugged before taking a deep breath. "Look, Danny,"_

"_I'm sorry I worried you." _

"_No Danny, just let me-"_

"_Fine," he sighed. _

"_About last night-"_

"_I had a fantastic night too, Linds. I'm glad it happened."_

_She smiled briefly before her face dropped. "But-"_

"_There ain't a but about it," Danny shrugged. "Is there a but?" _

"_A but?" she asked with raised eyebrows. _

"_Yeah, a but. I had a nice time... but I don't think we can do it again, or I like you, but you're not exactly what I'm looking for – or the kicker, I like you but it's too weird now we're back in New York and I don't really think we should take this thing between us any further?"_

"_Danny," Lindsay said softly, "What the hell are you talking about?" _

"_I thought when we were in Montana I made that clear... We aren't a one-time thing, Lindsay. I get that you needed time to settle back in and I gave you that space for you to do that... but I thought that we were good, you know? That last night was about... well, starting something between us. Granted I didn't think it'd be anythin' like it was – not that I was complainin', but I thought you were takin' me up on that offer of dinner, drinks and laughs?"_

_She blinked at him for a moment and burst out into laughter. _

"_Lindsay, it's not funny!" _

"_It's a little funny Danny, I thought it was me freaking out. I guess you've had more time on your hands to think than I have."_

"_So you're not comin' to tell me you've changed your mind?"_

"_Far from it," _

"_So you did want the whole dinner drinks and laughs." _

"_Absolutely," She quickly assured him. "I want that too Danny, I do... it's just-"_

"_It's just what, Lindsay?" He sighed. "What?"_

_She let out a breath she'd previously taken to steel herself. "Are you not pissed off with me?" _

"_I'm getting there with how cryptic you're being," He growled. "I didn't make you for this type of girl."_

"_Whoa," she sat forward on her seat and shook her head, "Don't get too ahead of yourself there Messer. I'm not about to let you put me into some category."_

"_Well stop actin' like a girl then," he teased. _

"_If anyone, you're acting like a girl with all these conversations we've apparently had in your head." _

"_Out with it, Montana." He drawled, changing the subject with a smile on his face. _

"_You took my shift," She whispered. "You shouldn't have. I should have just gone home this morning... or not gone back to sleep at the very least. I shouldn't have put you in that position." _

"_Linds, you were exhausted. I wasn't gonna let you go home after that anyway." _

"_But Danny," She sighed. "Look at you."_

"_You know what; I'd rather this is me than you," _

"_Danny..."_

"_Listen to me Montana, k? If they did this to me, what would they have done to you?"_

"_It was my shift though!" she cried. "It doesn't matter what they would have done because it was meant to be me there."_

"_Everything happens for a reason, Montana. I was supposed to take your shift, and this is the reason why." _

_Sighing Lindsay shook her head. "I'm not going to win this, am I?"_

_Shaking his head, Danny hazarded a small laugh, but winced from the pain of his ribs, "Not everythin's a contest, Lindsay." _

"_That's up for debate," she smiled shyly. "Have you heard anything about Adam?"_

"_Nah," he shook his head. "They took him over to the Burns unit," _

"_Poor guy," Lindsay's eyes welled up a little with tears. "Was he burned pretty bad? I didn't get much of a chance to look at him properly and see if he was okay... my mind was... a little preoccupied."_

"_With me," Danny grinned. "But to answer your question: they were brutal to him." _

_Lindsay nodded in understanding. _

"_I know what you're thinking," Danny smirked after a few moments of silence and lack of eye contact from Lindsay. _

"_You do?" She asked, swiping away a tear. "Enlighten me."_

"_You're wondering whether I told him."_

"_N-no." She stuttered. _

"_Yes you are," he said, shaking his head. "I can see it in your eyes."_

"_Danny, when in the middle of getting beaten to a pulp would you find the time to kiss and tell?" _

_Simply raising his eyebrow, he concentrated his gaze on Lindsay._

"_So maybe it passed through my mind briefly, but if you know... if it was something to take your mind off of what was goin' on then-"_

"_You think I'd do that?" Danny asked, "Kiss and tell?"_

"_Don't guys do that?"_

"_About girls that don't matter," he shrugged. "You matter."_

_Despite herself, she couldn't fight the smile that tugged at her lips. _

"_I matter to you?" she asked, fishing for another compliment. "Really?"_

"_Yeah," he nodded. "I'm surprised you hafta ask." _

"_Well... I don't," she smiled. "It's just you know, nice to hear."_

"_Well, you matter a lot to me," Danny informed her. "I'm not gonna mess this up between us by tellin' Adam Ross." _

"_There's an us?"_

"_I don't know," he shrugged. "You tell me."_

_Thinking about it for a second, Lindsay stood from her chair and carefully manoeuvred herself next to Danny on his hospital bed, laying her head on his shoulder. "There's definitely an us._

"_Good to know," he smiled as he pressed a kiss to her temple._

_And as she settled her head on him, a small spark of something that Lindsay hadn't felt in a _very_ long time ignited in the pit of her stomach._

_

* * *

_

_Feeling the anxiety rising within her, Lindsay slowed her steps as they quickly approached her apartment building. She was in no frame of mind to let their date come to an end so soon. Dinner had been delicious; the few drinks they'd had helped her unwind after such a crazy week, and their midnight stroll from the bar had perfected their night. So if it was to come to an end, then it wouldn't be the worst thing that happened... but to be quite honest, she got him all to herself on a rare occasion, and sleep or no sleep, the man was hers. _

"_You comin' up? Lindsay smiled as they reached her building. _

"_I'm exhausted, Linds. I really should go home and catch up on sleep, ya'know?"_

"_I can put make some coffee... or we could put a DVD on?" She continued, disregarding what he'd just said._

_Danny let out a chuckle and pressed a kiss to her cheek. "Cute."_

"_What?" She implored. "Don't make fun of me," she growled at him. "It's not my fault I want to make the most of the time we have when we have it." _

"_Oh, I'm not making fun of you." _

"_Well what's so funny then? What's wrong with coffee, or watching a DVD?" _

"_You do realise I know those are both code-phrases for sex, right?" He smirked with a raised brow. _

"_What?" She spluttered in shock. "Danny!" _

"_Montana," Danny sighed, "C'mon don't give me this crap. Coffee, that's an obvious one; everyone knows about that one... but the DVD... A DVD sets the mood, all snuggled up on the couch, arms here, legs there, one strategically placed kiss and before you know it the ending credits are rolling up the screen. Boom!" _

"_So you've watched some DVDs in your time then?" Lindsay smirked, realising that she'd been busted in her motives. "Or perhaps not, as you seem to last an entire movie." She added with a raised brow._

"_I don't like the boast," he smirked, "but it's been known." _

_Taking his hand, Lindsay tugged him up the stairs, leading to her apartment building. _

"_Linds?" _

"_What?" she smiled innocently over her shoulder as she unlocked her door. _

"_What the hell are you doing? I got an early shift tomorrow." _

"_Like hell... that's never stopped you before," she giggled. "I'm curious...and there's only one way to find out..." _

_Relenting as she managed to open her building's front door, he smiled. "You got Lord of the Rings?" _

"_Yeah, but I'm in the mood for Titanic."_

"_Ew, why?" He grimaced at the thought. _

"_It's longer."_

"_So let me get this straight," Danny smirked. "Not only is this premeditated if you know that Titanic is longer than Lord of the Rings, but you're also offering me a challenge," Danny wiggled his eyebrows. "Alright, you're on... you better get ready to have your world rocked for three hours, Montana." _

"_I'll believe it when I see it Messer."_

_He grabbed her hand and tugged her along with him into her building, intent on getting that DVD playing. She looked over to him, a smile plastered across his face and she turned her gaze to the floor. She wasn't too sure, but there was an extreme possibility she was falling for Danny. _

_Good and hard._

_

* * *

_

_Looking up from her computer, she narrowed her eyes and scanned the lab before turning back to her partner across her desk. "I think I'm falling for you." _

_Dropping the pen he was holding in shock, Danny turned his gaze over to Lindsay. Silence filled the room for longer than what Lindsay felt comfortable with. She closed her eyes and inwardly pleaded for the ground to swallow her up as Danny tried to gain some composure _

_Finally, his croaky voice whispered: "Come again?" _

_Blushing profusely, Lindsay's heart raced in her chest as she tried to figure out Danny's shocked reaction. Was it shock in that he felt the same way and thought it was just himself that felt that way, or was it an 'oh fuck, I'm in trouble!'_

"_Linds?"_

"_I'm really falling for you," she repeated. _

"_I heard that part," Danny said, no emotion upon his face. "I need a little more than that..."_

_Her brain screeched no at her, 'don't tell him anymore', but her heart completely disregarded everything and let all her feelings spill out onto the desk that separated them._

"_I keep thinking I should keep all of this to myself," Lindsay began. "And I was really trying not to tell you, because I didn't want to change what we have, because I love what we have Danny, I do... and I'm scared of what you'll say. So I tried to hide what I'm feeling... but I just can't anymore..." _

"_Linds-"_

"_No, let me finish," she interrupted him. "I spend half my time thinking about you, and the other half is when I'm with you. I really, really like you Danny and I don't want to scare you, but I don't know what else to do... other than tell you." _

"_I like you too Lindsay,"_

"_No, I don't think you understand," she blushed. "I really like you."_

"_I really like you too."_

"_No!" she cried, exasperated. "Like really,"_

"_Yes Lindsay and I really like you too." _

"_You don't understand what I'm saying to you."_

"_Linds, I do... trust me." _

_Closing her eyes, Lindsay laid her head on the desk and let out a groan. "I'm such an idiot."_

_Smiling, Danny stood and manoeuvred around their desks and crouched down to her level. "Lindsay Monroe, look at me."_

"_Go away," she muttered into her desk._

"_Linds, look at me sweetheart."_

_She turned a little, peering up at him. "What?"_

"_I like you too. I really like you. A lot." _

"_You do?" she whispered, coming out of her protective cocoon a little. "Really?"_

"_Really," he nodded. "I like where we're going." _

"_Really?"_

"_Yes... really." He smirked. "You don't hafta hide how you're feeling, k?"_

_She nodded. _

"_And if I'm honest, I spend quite a bit of my time thinkin' 'bout you too." _

"_Oh yeah?" she smiled. _

"_Knock that smirk off your face." He chuckled. _

"_It was a smile, actually." She said, straightening up. _

"_Whatever it was, I know exactly what you were thinking... and I know it was inappropriate for the workplace."_

"_Kind of like this conversation I brought up in the first place."_

"_A little," he chuckled, "But you do what you gotta do, you know?"_

_She nodded. "So we're okay... I didn't totally make a fool out of myself and ruin everything we've worked for?"_

"_Well, I wouldn't go as far as not making a fool out of yourself, because you were kinda goofy then," he teased. "But it was cute; you're cute, so it totally makes up for it."_

"_I'm not cute," She huffed. "Cute is a term you use to describe a little puppy."_

"_Oh Montana, you're definitely cute," he said as he pressed a kiss to the crown of her head after standing. "But you're also a hell of a lot of other things."_

"_Oh yeah?" she smirked. "Care to elaborate."_

_His lips hovered by her ear, the anticipation rising in her as she waited for what he had to say. _

"_Nice try," he whispered before backing away from her. _

_She let out an annoyed sigh, to which Danny chuckled at. "If you're a good girl, I'll tell you later."_

"_Tell me, or show me?" Lindsay smirked. _

"_We'll see."_

_

* * *

_

_Letting out a sigh as she dropped her finished paperwork to her complete pile, she leant back in her chair, trying to get the stress out of her back. _

"_I'm real proud of you; you did good honey." _

"_Honey?" Lindsay stopped dead in her tracks. "...Honey?" _

_Realising exactly what he'd said, Danny blushed slightly, "Um..."_

_She blinked at him across their desk, waiting for him to back-peddle. _

"_Um..."_

"_You called me honey earlier, didn't you?" _

_His silence spoke volumes. _

"_You mumbled it," she continued. "So I wouldn't hear... it slipped out, didn't it?" _

"_I don't know what you're talking about," He shrugged nonchalantly, continuing with his typing. _

"_Yes you do," she pressed. "It was when that ignorant bastard passed everything I said off as if I was crazy. You said honey! On the porch in Amityville; you did, didn't you?" _

"_Your ability to remember every little detail pisses me off sometimes." _

"_So you did?" she smiled. _

_He sighed. "You're a wiseass, you know that don't you." _

"_And proud of it," she smiled as she wiggled her way into getting him to admit it to her. "So you did?"_

"_Yes." He grumbled. "Yes I did... now don't be tellin' people you made me into a softy that has a million pet names for you, Montana. I got an image that I need to keep..."_

_She raised an eyebrow, "Image?"_

"_How else do you think I get my results so quickly?" _

"_Jerk!" _

"_You know I'm just kiddin'." _

"_Hmm." She narrowed her eyebrow. "I give you a year; you'll be more than happy yelling baby across the lab to get my attention."_

"_A year huh? You see us together in a year?"_

"_What? You don't?"_

"_Oh no," he cried, "No I do! It's just... it's nice to hear it from you." _

"_Who was it put themselves out there and told you that I was really falling for you?"_

"_Um. You?"_

"_So don't let on that I don't – don't..."_

"_You can do it," Danny smirked as she struggled to find the words she wanted. "I believe in you."_

"_Smartass!" she cried as she threw a pen at him, nailing him in the chest. "I wish I'd never told you I was fallin' for you." _

"_Lies," he smiled, rubbing his offended area. "Absolute lies..."_

_

* * *

_

"That's quite the smile, missy," a voice pulled her from her thoughts. "Penny for your thoughts?" Jack Monroe smiled as he put a penny down in front of Lindsay.

Sliding the penny across the table to the empty chair, indicating for her Dad to sit, a smile graces Lindsay's cheeks. "Just reminiscing."

"About..."

"When Danny and I first started dating."

"Oh Jesus, I'm sorry I asked," Jack smirked.

"Daddy!" Lindsay cried.

"I'm not a moron, sweetie," Jack chuckled. "I know full well that you're far from the innocent girl you used to be... that bump there tells me everything I need to know."

"Daddy, you're embarrassing me. If you have nothing nice to say, don't speak... ever!"

"Oh you know I don't mean it..." Jack brushed off Lindsay's embarrassment.

"Go away." She grumbled.

"Lighten up, Linds... Tell me, any specific event, or just in general?"

"This and that," Lindsay scowled at him but let him in regardless. "I'm flitting between loads of different memories."

"All good I hope,"

"All very good," she smiled.

"Did you have a nice day?" he asked, changing their topic of conversation. "Did you show him everywhere?"

Lindsay nodded in response.

"Everything?" He pressed.

"Yes," she sighed. "Dad..."

"So you showed him everything, Lindsay? In every part of town?"

"If you're asking me if I took him to see the diner then no, I didn't. I didn't want to and he didn't ask, so I left it at that. It was a happy tour of Bozeman, okay? Not some miserable morbid step back into history."

"I was only asking," Jack said, raising his hands in surrender. "But good to know where you stand on it." Lindsay sighed dramatically. "We were going to buy a few things for the baby and as we get to the counter, she basically took it off of us and told us that Kyle, Brad and Hales were in before us and had bought everything and -"

"She did what?" Jack interrupted, astounded with Lindsay's story. "She told you?"

"You knew?" Lindsay asked, equally as astounded as her father.

"It was my idea!"

"Well the plot thickens," Lindsay smirked. "So now do you see why?"

"Woman must be on something!" Jack implored. "What the hell is her problem?"

"She just likes to gossip," Lindsay shrugged. "Needs to feel like she's important."

"Oh I'll give her important," Jack scowled. "What did Danny say?"

"You don't want to know," Lindsay assured her father. "A few choice words, a few insults... nothing that won't add to his bad boy image."

"Danny doesn't have a bad boy image," Jack furrowed his brow. "Does he?"

"He pretends he does," Lindsay explained. "It keeps him happy... Speaking of my doting husband, you haven't seen him have you?"

"Is our house that big that you've lost him?" Jack teased.

"It's bigger than our two bed apartment." She countered.

"Touché," Jack smirked. "He's watching a DVD upstairs I believe... told me to send you up actually."

Biting her lip and hard, Lindsay nodded. "He did?"

Jack nodded. "Dinner's gonna be a while... you should go join him."

"I might," she nodded, desperately trying not to blush or giggle. "Do you know what he's watching?"

"I think he took Titanic. Random movie choice I'd say, I pictured him with something a little more macho. Action packed maybe? He hardly seems like the Titanic type..."

"He's a sucker for... um... the history of the boat."

Raising his eyebrow, Jack merely shook his head at his daughter.

"He is!" She insisted.

"Ooookay." Jack chuckled. "I won't read into the beet red blush on your cheeks then, no?"

Her hands went to her cheeks to feel what she expected to be burning skin.

"Got'cha," Jack smirked. "Just go."

"Daddy!" she cried, smacking his arm. "I hate you."

"I love you too, baby," he said dropping a kiss to her forehead.

She growled at him, letting him leave the room before she fluffed her bangs and slowly stood from her seat. She glanced down to her watch; at least two hours before dinner. _Perfect!_ She thought to herself. It'd be a lovely way to wind down after the long day of sight-seeing they'd shared between the two of them. A nice atmosphere, all snuggled up on her bed, arms here, legs there, one strategically placed kiss and boom!

* * *

**There we go, like I said totally random - but I thought something was better than nothing, huh? And it's been a while anyway! Hope you guys liked it. Let me know what you thought - I'd really appreciate it! **

**Thanks for reading :) **


	62. You

**A/N: Hi guys. It's been a while it seems - sorry about that! I've had a major case of writers' block and I've had a bunch of work to do at school. Excuses excuses that you guys don't care about, I know... but still, these are like my diary entries. hah. I've struggled through the block with this one, so I hope it isn't that obvious with how much I struggled. I wanted to try break the block, and I find for me the best way to do that is to keep Fred on task. haha. ****That and I'm currently attempting to watch Paranormal activity 1 and only managing to watch it in 10 minute bursts because I'm freaking myself out with it... so this is my break from that for now, haha.**

**This chapter is dedicated to Aveo amacus. It isn't actually what I pictured when I used this song, but I found it fit around the story I was trying to tell, and I love this song too - it fits them so well - so I just had to use it! I hope you like it m'dear! :)**

**Just want to take the chance to thank everyone for the lovely reviews from last chapter. I'm glad some of you still like the story - I hope others are still around to read it too... I know I'm dragging it out in Montana here, I blame Fred :P**

**So, special thank you to:** 6, Lindsay1234, Mikey G, rapidtetv, afrozenheart412, 18lzytwner, Aveo amacus, brendanakai, rhymenocerous and messermonroeforever125.

* * *

**You – Rascal Flatts **

_There's only one thing __I can't live without__; y__ou__._

* * *

Smiling to herself, Lindsay practically skipped out of the kitchen en-route to the stairs.

"Linds!"

Sighing as her foot made contact with the first step, Lindsay turned and glanced behind her, she rolled her eyes. "What?"

"Is uh... Danny upstairs?"

"Yeah. Why?"

"Um... Can I talk to you?"

Lindsay looked at her brother. "As opposed to what?"

"Do you always have to be a smartass?" He sighed as he took his sister's hand and led the pair into the living room.

"Depends," She smiled. "Do you always have to be a dumbass?"

Perching on the chair next to his sister, Brad wrapped his arm around her and pulled her into his side.

"Whoa." She sat back and looked at her brother.

"What?"

"Are you dying?"

"No..." He looked at her with disgust

"Well, do you want money?"

"What? No!"

Lindsay furrowed her brow. "What did you do?"

"Oh for the love of... Lindsay, come on, be serious."

"I'm trying to be; what's wrong with you?" she asked timidly, looking at her arm. "Body contact, this... this never happens unless you've done something or you want something; so which is it?"

"I want to talk to you about Danny,"

"Okay..."

"He means a lot to you, Sis, and I know that."

"Okay... and?"

"And I want to make sure he likes me and I like him."

"Oh, so that's why you're acting like a complete loser." Lindsay nodded. "That makes absolute sense."

"No," He snapped. "I've never met the guy Linds, alright? He's your husband and the father to your daughter and I want to make sure that he feels comfortable with your family... especially after all the shit you two have been through. No hard feelings and all that jazz."

Lindsay looked up at her big brother through glassy eyes. "I... I didn't realise."

"So, what I'm asking is just some information... what does he like to do out of work?"

"Why?"

"So I can talk to him about it, Lindsay!" Brad implored. "Keep up."

"Did Mom put you up to this?"

"No."

"Dad?"

"Linds..."

"Kyle?"

"NO!" Brad growled. "No Lindsay, no-one's 'put me up to it'. It's just me wanting to get to know my baby sister's husband, k?"

Lindsay looked at her brother as she weighed up his intentions. She'd been the brunt of a million jokes over the years, courtesy of Brad, but as she assessed the look in his eyes, she had to wonder... was he serious?

"Baseball." She said finally. "He loves the Yankees. He quite likes Basketball too, but he sleeps and breathes baseball."

"Okay." Brad nodded. "I could-"

"Me, he likes to talk about when I was younger, and I guess college years too."

Brad smiled. "Kind of big-headed of you, he likes to talk about you?"

"Fine," Lindsay smirked. "I'll lie to you, give you a bunch of crap to talk to him about so you can look like an idiot when you start talking about Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry; he loves that."

"What's that?"

"It's an advanced piece of chemical analytical equipment which we use in the lab to characterise complex organic mixtures. Otherwise known as GCMS."

"And that's why you actually went somewhere in life." Brad smirked. "So Baseball and you are pretty save topics to bring up with him?"

"Brad," Lindsay smiled. "Talk to him about anything... you don't have to come up with things especially to talk to him about. Danny's a nice guy and he really wants to get to know everyone, that's why he came out here."

"I know, kiddo. I just want to make sure that we're good."

"Brad, you're my big brother; he's more scared of you than you are of him. Trust me."

Brad stared at his sister. "Yeah, right."

"Brad, you're my big brother and I'm your baby sister. Danny has this image of you taking him to the barn and showing him your collection of guns and you, Dad and Kyle holding him at gunpoint, telling him not to harm a hair on my head."

"He does realise I don't own a gun..."

Lindsay chewed her lip.

"You told him I did?"

"No, I just didn't correct him."

"You're horrible."

"I have to have some fun with him." Lindsay smirked. She shuffled in her seat and laid her head on her brother's arm. "Trust me, B..."

"I do trust you Linds, I just... I know how much he means to you and I want to make sure that he feels he's got a brother in me."

She turned her head and looked up to her brother and squeezed his arm affectionately.

Brad smiled before a frown crossed his face. "Wait, were you going upstairs for a reason? I just realised I stopped you-"

"I was going up to check on Danny,"

"Oh," Brad nodded. "Go – don't let me keep you; I'll just, I'll talk to him later, right?"

Lindsay nodded as her brother held his hand out and helped her out of her seat. She steadied herself on her feet before leaning down and pressing a kiss to her brother's forehead. "I love you,"

"I love you too sis."

* * *

After leaving Brad in the living room, contemplating his next steps with Danny, Lindsay made her way upstairs. She smiled contently as her hand made contact with her bedroom door and without a seconds thought she burst into the room, but instantly her smile and excitement slipped away and a warm feeling spread through her instead.

She made her way over to the bed and reached for the duvet, pulling the comforter over her husband's body. She then perched herself on the edge of the bed and ran her fingers through his soft and styled hair. She quickly glanced to the TV and let out a little laugh as she realised he hadn't even got past the scene selection on the menu of the DVD before he had fallen asleep.

She silently switched the TV off and then made her way to the bed on her side and quickly slipped underneath the covers. Letting the warmth of his body lull her to sleep, she snuggled up to him. As he shifted in his position, Lindsay held her breath as she willed for him to stay asleep but let out a sigh as she felt him snuggle further into her back.

"Mmmm, hey baby girl,"

"Go back to sleep, I didn't mean to wake you up."

"What? And not know who it is I'm cuddlin'?"

"Who else would be cuddling with you?"

"Touché," he chuckled as he settled his face in the crook of her neck.

"My Dad said you were watching a DVD."

"I didn't get far," Danny nodded to the now off television. "I don't think I'm gonna be able to function when we go back to work. I'm way too used to napping now. It's like I'm back in college... or you know, kindergarten."

Lindsay let out a sleepy giggle as she snuggled into the shape of Danny's body. "We'll just have to nap on Mac's couch, I'm sure he won't mind."

"Sure he won't." Danny chuckled. "We'll both be able to get on there, right?"

"Mmm."

"How long we got till dinner?" After a few seconds of silence, Danny trailed his eyes to Lindsay's face. "Babe?" Upon no response, he craned his neck a little further and smiled as he realised she'd fallen asleep.

He settled in the crook of her neck and let the smell of her shampoo take over his senses as he drifted back to sleep. Surely someone would come and wake them up when it was dinner-time...

* * *

_A few hours later... _

"So..." Kyle glanced up from his position. "Were they watching a DVD?"

"Takin' a nap," Brad shrugged. "Kinda sweet actually."

"They weren't watching a DVD?" Jack asked, a little shocked. "Really?"

"No." Brad replied with arched brows. "You seem to be pushing this DVD Dad... something you wanna share with the group."

"No," Jack cried. "God no! I didn't want them to watch it, but I knew it was inevitable. I mean... it's- they-"

"Dad, you have serious issues," Haley laughed, shaking her head before turning to face her brother. "Didn't you wake them up?"

"Why would I do that?" Brad implored.

"'Cause it's dinner time," Kyle piped in. "And I haven't sat all day doin' this for jack shit, bro."

"You've hardly broken your back," Haley smirked. "But seriously, go get them, Brad."

"I ain't wakin' 'em up," Brad shook his head vigorously.

"Chicken?" Kyle smirked.

"No..." Brad shook his head in disgust. "Just... have you seen the guns on the guy? He'd pack a pretty good punch."

"Brad, for God's sake," Haley laughed. "He's not going to punch you in the face for waking him up from a nap. Get a grip."

"How do you know?" Brad snipped. "He might."

"I have it on good authority that he won't," A voice sounded, coming into the living room.

The four occupants of the room snapped up and turned quickly to face the newest member of their family. Kyle and Jack shared a look between each other and quickly shoved something under the couch before turning and facing Danny who had settled on the couch on the other side of the room.

"Good nap?" Haley smiled at Danny's dishevelled appearance.

"Amazing," He nodded in response to his sister-in-law. "Lindsay makes a good teddy bear."

"I'll bet she does." Haley smirked.

"Didn't mean it like that," Danny returned Haley's smirk. "And you knew it... our cuddling is purely innocent."

"Sure." Haley nodded. "I absolutely... don't believe you."

"Whatever." Danny muttered. "Oh yeah, by the way" he chuckled as he relaxed on the couch next to Brad. "Next time you come in to check on me and Linds, turn the flash off on your camera, okay?"

"Huh?"

"Took a picture, didn't you?" Danny smirked.

"Maybe... Mom told me to."

"The flash woke us up."

"Shit."

"Yeah, well done Einstein." He teased his brother-in-law.

"Is Linds pissed?"

"Yeah she's outside, knocking down trees with her ninja side-kicks and cursing your name with a rain dance." Danny smirked before rolling his eyes. "She's still asleep..."

"I thought you said the flash woke you both up," Jack teased.

"Well, I told her to go back to sleep... our walk today really took it out of her so I figured she could use a bit longer in bed... unless you guys want her to get up?"

"Go get her lazy ass up!" Haley cried. "Pregnant or not, what does she think this is, a vacation?"

"Well, it'll be her last vacation for a while, Hales." Brad laughed. "What with her having a baby on the way... hi no life for eighteen years."

"Don't do the crime if you can't do the time," Haley smirked. "Go on Danny boy, off you go, wake up sleeping beauty. We've got a surprise for you."

"Dare I ask what it is?"

"Nope." Haley shook her head. "Go."

Obediently doing as he was told, Danny stood from his seat and shook his head. "Women."

"Watch it!" Haley cried after Danny before rolling her eyes. "Men!"

* * *

Settling by the side of his wife, Danny took a moment to just watch her chest rise and fall steadily. He loved to watch her sleep – not in a crazed stalker way – but more of a moment of appreciation for what he had in her. She was beautiful; absolutely stunning – especially first thing in the morning - regardless of her insistence in wearing make-up. And what he loved about her was that she was so modest about how beautiful she really was.

He wasn't one for expressing his feelings and it had taken him a while to gather the confidence to dish out the compliments to Lindsay. A part of him argued that he felt that way because he'd never found himself in a relationship like the one he shared with Lindsay; he'd never been so deep before. But the other part of him contested that he was just too scared of putting himself out there. And although he knew it was a combined mixture of both, he found that the hesitance he'd had in the beginning to tell her how he felt, made his confessions of love and compliments mean a little more, because both he, and she knew he meant them from the bottom of his heart.

Smiling, he prodded her button nose with his index finger. She scrunched her nose up and let out a contented and snuggled sigh. She took a few moments before peeking up from her little cocoon she'd made herself and flashed Danny a sleepy smile. "Hey,"

"Hey pretty girl. Did you have a nice nap?"

She nodded as she shuffled further on her bed, making more room for Danny to sit on the bed next to her. Instead, he used the room made available to him and laid himself next to her, sharing her pillow.

"When did you get up?" she questioned as she snuggled into his chest.

"A few minutes ago," He replied as he pressed a kiss to her forehead. "I'm told its dinner time."

"Surely not," Lindsay shook her head. "I've been asleep for two hours?"

"Two and a half actually." Danny said, glancing to his watch. "You won't sleep tonight now."

"I wouldn't be so sure about that," she said before letting out a massive yawn. "I'm exhausted."

"Excuses excuses,"

"Hey, I'd like to take this opportunity to remind you that I'm eight months pregnant with your daughter, Mr. Messer."

"You're so sexy when you say that."

"Excuse me?" She laughed in disbelief, sitting up in bed a little. "Sexy? I think you need to look up that definition you've got yourself there. It's a little off."

"How are you not sexy? My wife... pregnant with my daughter." He whispered as he pulled her down to him and pressed a kiss to her shoulder. "That's extremely sexy."

Her hand slipped between them and she let out a little giggle and shook her head. "How can this be turning you on?"

"You turn me on."

"So you woke me up for sex?"

"No, I woke you up for dinner... however-"

"Don't even go there," Lindsay growled playfully, cutting him off before he could finish his sentence.

"Can't blame me for tryin'," he teased. "Don't ask, you don't get."

"Fair play," Lindsay giggled. "I'll be down in a few."

"Is that my hint to hit the road?"

"Maybe." She grinned. "I need to wake myself up before I can be all perky and Lindsay-like."

"Well, don't take your time," Danny smiled as he pressed a kiss to her forehead. "I might miss you if you take forever."

"Aw, so cute." She smiled as she watched him reluctantly stand from the bed. Reaching out, her fingertips just connected with his ass as she gently swatted him.

"Hey, what was that for?" he cried playfully and dramatically.

She shrugged with a glint in her eye before throwing the covers from her body and rubbing her eyes. "See you in a few baby,"

"Don't be long." He said as he shut the door behind him.

* * *

"Where'd everyone go?" Danny gestured to the now empty living room. "You clear them out?"

"Nah," Brad shrugged as he glanced up from the paper. "God knows where they scurried off to."

Nodding as he took a seat next to his brother-in-law, Danny peered over to the paper. "Anything goin' on in the world?"

"Hardly." Brad said as he closed the paper and flung it to the coffee table. "If all they're talking about is the scandal on the Richmond's farm and how the livestock keep going missing in the Bozeman Daily chronicle, then I think we're free from the world imploding or an alien invasion anytime soon."

"Good to know," Danny laughed.

"Linds gracing us with her presence anytime soon?"

"She's just takin' five to wake herself up. She's all cranky when she wakes up."

"Oh believe me, I know... I avoided her through her entire teenage years."

Danny laughed. "Was she a grouch back then too?"

"Totally." Brad shook his head in memory. "She was the worst out of all of us. She never was a morning person."

"And then she chose a career that demands her gettin' up at the crack of dawn to stand in the freezing cold... that makes perfect sense."

As silence overtook the room, Danny cringed. He desperately searched for a topic of conversation, but found himself failing miserably. He glanced at Brad and offered him a small, embarrassed smile.

"I ask Linds this like all the time, but doesn't it... I dunno, wear thin on your ability to trust in anyone? Seeing what you do day in day out?"

"Every day." Danny nodded, thankful for Brad's topic of conversation, regardless of the content. "You never get used to it, but you find a way to deal with it."

"How though?" Brad implored as he settled further on the couch. "I just... there's no way a person can be that resilient."

Danny shrugged. "It's hard to begin with, don't get me wrong. But I tried not to let it get to me to begin with 'cause once that happens, it's like a vicious circle."

"No kidding, I bet it's hard staying this side of sanity."

"Seriously," Danny nodded. "It's a battle, that's for sure."

"So, from what Lindsay's told you... is it totally different, Montana and New York? Crime scene wise?"

"Well, the Richmond's livestock is front page news here; a murder in New York and people don't bat eyelids, let alone makes the front page... believe me, trying to get witness statements is a bitch."

Brad nodded contemplatively. "But still, some of the stuff Linds has told us. It blows my mind."

"You've got to remember that we live in New York... I'm sure if I lived here then the things I would see at work would be on completely different spectrums." Danny reasoned.

"A murder is a murder though; no matter where you live."

"True," Danny nodded. "I mean don't get me wrong, I'm not this man of concrete where no cases affect me. There are certain things that hit close to home, same for Linds. We're just lucky we have each other at the end of a shift."

"I suppose you both help each other see the good in things."

"Yeah, she's definitely the one that helps me through the tough times."

Brad nodded. "But, I just... how can you willingly live there when it's just so dangerous?"

"I've lived there my whole life," Danny shrugged. "I don't know much different."

"I guess... I suppose you could say the same to me."

Danny chuckled. "You kind of get used to the crazies."

"You know," Brad began hesitantly, looking at the surroundings of the room to make sure they had no eavesdroppers. "Dad and Linds... they didn't talk much after she left."

"Whoa," Danny blinked at Brad's random admission. "What?"

"She didn't know... but he just, he couldn't. He didn't want to open himself up to hearing something that would upset him. She's his baby girl and he took it upon himself to keep her safe after well... you know. At all costs. Her moving to the city really knocked the wind from him."

Danny nodded in understanding. "But, didn't Linds work that out though? I mean they're pretty close, she'd notice him not talkin' to her, surely."

"She always said to Ma to tell Dad that she loved him, and he eventually came around. But for a while, he was really busy every time she called. Between you and me though, I think she knew... and I think it killed her."

Danny nodded slowly. "She never mentioned it to me, but then again... I was the playground bully back then."

Brad laughed. "She surely didn't let you get too far though."

"She definitely gave as good as she got; I'll give her that."

"So she should, after all I made her endure as a kid."

Taking the natural pause in the conversation as an opportunity to change the direction of their conversation, Danny cleared his throat. "We didn't exactly do this the best way, did we?" Danny began. "Linds and I gettin' married and then me meetin' you guys afterwards."

"Hardly," Brad shrugged, "But honestly, the only thing that matters if you two are happy. If Linds is happy, then so am I. We all are."

"I was hopin' you'd say that." Danny offered a friendly smile. "You know, I was fuckin' terrified to meet you."

"What?"

"Me, I was terrified."

"You're kidding," Brad laughed. "You seem so confident in yourself."

Danny shook his head slowly. "Honestly, I was dying inside... truth to be told, I've never met a girlfriend's parents before really. So meeting my wife's parents was like skipping a whole stage and just diving into the deep end."

"So why were you scared of me then?"

"Because you're her brother, and I know how much she loves you and Kyle... and Haley. I know I wasn't the best boyfriend for her, and there's some serious shit that went down between me and Linds. I figured you'd be gunning for my head on a plate the second you met me, especially after gettin' her pregnant and then marryin' her without you guys even gettin' the chance to meet me."

"A year ago, then yeah you'd have lasted maybe ten minutes... but it's so obvious how much Linds loves you, it'd be crazy for me to be all hung up over something that really has nothing to do with me."

"But still-"

"Let me pose this question to you," Brad began. "Had Linds not gotten pregnant, would you have gotten married?"

"Well, when Linds got pregnant, we weren't exactly the strongest of couples."

"But sleeping together helped obviously." Brad quipped.

"I said Linds got pregnant to mask the fact I was sleeping with your sister, but thanks for bringin' that to the foreground, buddy." Danny teased lightly.

"So, would you?" Brad pressed.

"It would have taken longer, but we would have gotten there eventually. I know that for sure."

"How?"

"Well, I've screwed up with her loads of times, but she's always been there for me. Like I majorly screwed up with her, but she was there to... I don't wanna make it sound to cliché, but she was my little compass through it all, getting me where I needed to be. Like, when everything didn't make sense, she did. And through all of those shitty times I had, the only thing I couldn't deal with was not having her."

Brad smiled. "A fan of Rascal Flatts?"

"Huh?" Danny asked with an arched brow.

"You... you sound like a Rascal Flatts song."

"I blame your sister," Danny laughed with a slight blush to his cheeks. "I didn't realise I was dropping song lyrics."

"Little bit," Brad laughed. "But you're good; I get the picture. But for future reference, and I'm sure it's much to your dismay; Lindsay doesn't really like country music."

"Lies." Danny smirked. "I've seen the state of her iPod. She looks like she rolled around in a puddle of Nashville talent."

"She's clearly screwing with you."

Danny narrowed his eyes. "She... she likes lots of country."

"Name one artist."

"Um..."

"I thought so." Brad smirked.

"What are you talkin' about?" A sleepy Lindsay asked as she made her presence known in the room.

"You," Both Danny and Brad smiled in unison.

"Oh yeah?" she smiled as she wiggled her way in-between two of the most important people in her life. "I hope it's all good."

"No, we're bitchin' about how you're the bane of our existence, right Danny."

"Yep," Danny nodded in agreement with Brad. "Totally."

"Lies," Lindsay giggled. "You both love me."

Sighing dramatically, Danny shrugged. "I guess."

"Don't you have anything better to do with your time?" Lindsay smirked.

"Me?" Danny asked to clarify. "Nope, nothing at all... just getting lots of dirt on you, right Brad?"

"Absolutely." Brad nodded along.

Lindsay shook her head and growled at both her husband and brother. Danny chuckled as he squeezed his wife's knee before pulling her into his side and letting her snuggle into the frame of his body.

Turning to face Brad, Lindsay flashed him a wink, whom smiled in response. Clearly the time she'd given her brother and husband had done them a world of good in easing their nerves in actually hitting it off. Even though neither of them had no reason to be nervous.

After all, both of them had a fabulous common interest... herself of course.

* * *

**There we go. I really hope you guys liked. I'm hoping now some ideas will spark and I'll get back into the swing of things with the story. Fingers crossed! :) **

**Any thoughts or comments would be really appreciated; hopefully Fred will get out of his funk after some love! lol. Thanks very much for reading guys, I appreciate it! **

**Until next time. **


	63. Better Than Revenge

**A/N: Hi girls! It's been FOREVER since I've updated this one. Fred was just digging his heels in with this chapter and wasn't having any of the ideas I wanted, so I thought it'd be best to leave it for the time being, but because I'm working on an assignment of course inspiration hit, so here we have the finished piece... finally! And it's my birthday today so I figured I had a justified reason to stop working on my assignment and tweak this.**

**Can I just say wow as well, last chapter you guys sent me flying past 1000 reviews. Can anyone say oh my gosh? Wow! You guys are awesome. It only seems like yesterday I was sat in my dorm room debating starting a new story, and here we are a 1000 reviews later - I don't actually know what to say - you guys are just fantastic and I wub you all! **

**So, from last chapter special thank you to:** Lindsay1234, Megam, brendanakai, afrozenheart412, rapidtetv, Pheonix1995, Aveo amacus, 18lzytwner, 6, saderia and rhymenocerous. **High fives to all of you!**

* * *

**Better Than Revenge – Taylor Swift**

_Now, go stand in the corner and think about what you did..._

_

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_

"So Danny, tell us when did you realise you had fallen for Linds?"

"Seriously?" An exasperated Lindsay sighed. "Leave him alone guys, you've tortured us sufficiently for today."

"You're fair play Lindsay Messer." Haley smirked from her position at the dinner table. "You don't get knocked up and have an impromptu wedding and get off scot free... Now Danny, do tell."

Blushing, Danny fought a smile that tugged at his lips. He knew that conversation over dinner would be focused on him; after all, it had been the first opportunity for him to interact with Lindsay's siblings... this being said though, it was one thing preparing yourself for the inevitable and was something completely different putting that into practice and attempting to find the right words to make the right first impression.

He turned and wrapped his arm around Lindsay. "Why don't you tell 'em when you thought I'd fallen for you and we'll see if we have the same answer?"

Glancing at him through her lashes, she blushed. "Danny..."

"Go on Linds," Haley smiled. "Fill us in, I actually like this idea better."

"You might change it though," she looked up at him through her lashes. "I know you... just so you win, you'd change it."

"Linds," Brad smirked. "It ain't a contest."

"Everything's a contest with her," Danny smirked.

"I should'a know that to be fair," Brad smirked.

"I love that you two are getting on so well," Lindsay shot a glare at her husband and then turned to her brother. "Really, I do."

"Why do I sense sarcasm then?" Dana smiled as she placed the last plate on the table. "Don't wait for me, dig in. Danny... take what you want, alright? Don't be afraid, there's plenty for everyone."

Smiling, Danny nodded, "I will. Looks delicious."

Silence filled the dining room as the family dug into the mass of food that Dana had cooked. Spooning a mountain of salad onto his plate Danny glanced at the rest of the Monroes to assess how many enchiladas they were taking from the platter. Himself, he'd take about ten given the chance, however his mother had drummed it into him to be polite when he was having dinner as a guest, and the last thing he wanted was to overstep the mark.

He watched as Haley took two, Lindsay three, Brad four and Kyle five.

Letting out a breath Danny thanked the heavens that the Monroes had appetites like himself.

He started with one, which earned him a wink and giggle from Lindsay. She could read him like a book... which was partly the reason behind taking three. She highly doubted she'd be able to eat all three but she knew if she took any less, Danny would internally freak out, convincing himself he couldn't take more than two and would then starve himself to death.

Or worse... have to eat salad.

Noticing that Danny had only taken one enchilada, Dana smacked her palm against her forehead. "Oh God, I'm stupid. Mary Joseph, I can't believe it!"

The patrons of the table turned and peered at Dana as she had a breakdown at the end of the table.

"Everything okay, Mom?" Lindsay prodded carefully.

"Danny, I'm so sorry!"

Turning their gazes from Dana, the Monroes' looked to Danny whom was now blushing profusely. "Sorry about... what?"

"I never checked to see – oh God, sweetheart, don't eat it!" She cried as she snatched the plate from his place setting. "Here, do you want me to make you- I'll make you- I know exactly what I'll make you-"

"Baby, where's she goin' with my dinner?" he voiced his concerns to Lindsay lamely.

"Mom!" Lindsay cried.

"Mom... what the hell are you doing?" Brad laughed. "Give the guy his dinner."

"I never checked to see if he liked spicy foods... I just assumed – Danny, don't eat this. I'll make you spaghetti, Lindsay raves about your spaghetti, so you can try mine. Heavens, I can't believe I did that!"

"No!" Danny cried. "No, it's not necessary; I like spicy food Dana, honest."

"No, you won't be eating this!"

"Mom, he likes spicy stuff." Lindsay rolled her eyes. "Stop with the theatrics, chill out. Eat your dinner and give Danny his back."

"No, don't lie to save my feelings, sweetheart. It's no bother."

Standing silently, Haley took the plate from her mother, handed it to Danny before turning back to her mother. "Sit your ass down."

"Language!" Jack growled as he looked up from his plate of enchiladas. "Don't speak to your mother like that."

"Tell her to stop freaking out then," Haley reasoned as she retook her seat. "Danny here is internally freaking out... poor guy's life flashed before his eyes when she took his dinner off him."

"She knows you well," Lindsay smirked as she nudged her husband in the side with her elbow.

"Enough of that," Danny teased as he stabbed two enchiladas for good measure to match Lindsay's from the platter and quickly placed them on his plate. "Honestly Dana, I'm fine with spicy foods." He warranted a glance to Lindsay happily consuming her plate.

Staring at her son-in-law, Dana shook her head. "I'll call your mother and check."

"You'll do nothing of the sort," Jack growled. "Leave the boy alone and let him eat for God's sake. Stop worrying woman!"

Snapping up in his seat slightly, Danny's eyes widened at the tension at the table. He'd come to the conclusion that dinner time at the Monroe's was certainly different to that at the Messer's. With his mother, you didn't get the choice in how much food you ate, she heaped platefuls in front of you, and it was expected you'd have seconds too. Here, the freedom that was given at dinner time blew his mind. He cast his eyes down to his dinner and began happily eating, feeling comfort in the hand that Lindsay had placed on his thigh.

"So Danny, you dodged Haley's genius question," Kyle smirked. "When did you realise you'd fallen for Linds?"

"Linds was gonna answer," Haley piped in. "Go on Sis,"

"You already know all of this," Lindsay rolled her eyes. "Better than I probably remember it myself."

"Just humour us," Brad teased. "Go on; throw us a bone, Linds."

"Daddy, are you not even going to stick up for us?" Lindsay looked as a last effort to her father.

"I've come to accept that there's no winning with you kids." Jack smirked. "You don't answer, you'll never hear the end of it, kiddo."

Sighing, Lindsay placed her fork down and squeezed Danny's thigh. "Well I think he fell for me when he realised what he had to lose. I offered myself up for an undercover op. and he was just freaking out from what I've been told."

Danny smiled down at his wife.

"And of course I could just tell by the hitch in his voice and how it was getting louder when he couldn't find me... it was like he hadn't realised what I meant to him until there was the possibility of me not being there anymore. That's when he properly realised at least."

Smiling proudly, Lindsay went back to her dinner; content that she'd pinned Danny down in a second's thought.

"Wrong..." he sing-songed, stopping her dead in her tracks.

"I knew you'd do that." She scowled at him.

"Do what?" He laughed at the look on her face. "Babe?"

"Change it," she sighed. "I said he would. Haley this was a stupid idea!"

"Don't go bringin' me into your domestics," she cried.

"Sorry I'm late!"

Looking up from his dinner, Danny furrowed his eyebrow as he counted the places at the table, Jack, Haley, Kyle, Brad, Dana, him, Lindsay... seven people; seven place settings... who the hell else could possibly be- his train of thought trailed off as he saw Haley throw her seat back and disappear from the room at the speed of lightening.

"Who-?" Danny whispered to Lindsay, to which she simply replied: "Nathan."

Nodding Danny turned and looked over his shoulder and cringed as he caught sight of Haley and Nathan sharing quite the moment with one another. Turning back to his dinner, he cringed.

"Don't worry, the image fades," Lindsay whispered to him. "And that feeling in your stomach will soon pass and you'll be good to go."

He turned with a raised brow, unsure of what she meant, so to explain it for him; she nodded behind her and pursed her lips together. "They play kissyface all the time..."

"You're used to it then?"

"You could say that," Lindsay laughed as she watched Brad shift his place setting closer to their mother. "It's more of an expectation now. It's easier when you expect it."

Nodding slowly, Danny took in the information.

"You're freaking out, aren't you?" She whispered to her husband as every occupied themselves in eating.

"A little," he admitted quietly. "I haven't ever met a girlfriend's parents and here I am meetin' my wife's entire family. So much is ridin' on this and I just wanna make a good impression."

"I know," she smiled as she rubbed his thigh affectionately. "You're doing good. They love you Danny, just be yourself. I promise, you'll make it through this in one piece."

"I better," he smirked as they realised that the Monroes' attention was being drawn back to dinner.

"Help yourself Nathan," Dana smiled brightly. "There's plenty to go around."

Nathan offered Dana a thankful smile as he pulled his seat into the table. He then reached across and offered his hand to Danny. "Hey, I'm Nathan; nice to meet you."

"Danny." Danny returned the handshake. "How ya doin',"

"Cute." Nathan smirked, raising his eyebrows at Lindsay. "Very New York, Linds. I like it."

"I'm not even taking you on," Lindsay laughed as she stabbed some of her salad aggressively. "Jerk."

"Someone's touchy," Nathan laughed and then turned his attention to Haley. "What did you do?"

"I love how it's instantly me." She smirked.

"It was you!" Lindsay spat. "You've wound me up Haley."

"I didn't say it wasn't me... I just said I loved that it was instantly me... Now, we've had enough distractions," Haley smirked. "You were sayin' Danny."

"Haley, for the love of – _will you just eat_?" Lindsay exclaimed. "Some people actually eat around the dinner table. Try it..."

Ignoring her sister completely, Haley merely looked on at Danny with an 'I _will_ win and you _are _doing this' look on her face – one to which Danny didn't even want to fight with in the slightest. So... instead of fighting it, Danny turned his attention to Lindsay specifically and wrapped an arm around the back of her chair. If he was telling her then maybe, just maybe the whole situation wouldn't be so mortifying.

"You know when you-"

"Danny," she sighed, "Eat your dinner, don't feel like you have to do what she asks of you," Lindsay said, shooting a look in her sister's direction.

"Nah, it's good," he smiled. "I don't actually think we've had this conversation before."

Looking at him to assess whether he was just doing to please her family, or whether he genuinely wanted to have the conversation, she considered his features. There weren't any tell-tale signs of desperation. There wasn't anything that told her he was feeling particularly uncomfortable...

"What was it you were saying?" she said finally, causing Haley to punch the air in victory.

"Well... it's actually a culmination of events that all contributed to me realisin' I'd fallen for you, so you're gonna have to bear with me here for a few."

She nodded contemplatively as she continued to consume her dinner, but listening to Danny all the same.

"Alright so I guess the somethin' that caught my attention was that amazin' dress you wore when we caught that subway surfer case. You looked _incredible._"

Blushing at the look on his face in front of her family, but smiling regardless Lindsay shook her head, "So easy." She teased him. "You know, when I was approaching the scene I knew I was goin' to be in for a world of hurt with your comments and wandering eyes."

"How did you know I didn't bat for the other side?"

"Oh please, I saw you checkin' me out for the entire duration of my first shift at work. Within about ten minutes I knew I'd be beating you off me with a stick."

"They do realise we're still here right?" Nathan asked Haley who promptly smacked him on the arm, gaining silence from him instantly as he rubbed the offended area.

"Busted," Brad smirked as he helped himself to another enchilada.

"So what was the other event that made you realise you adored me?" Lindsay smiled, completely ignoring the other patrons of the dinner table.

"Well, do you remember that reconstruction you called me to ask you with?"

"Really Danny in all my time, how many experiments and reconstructions have I done?"

"Alright, point taken..." He smirked, "Think old-school... you know the one on the rooftop?"

"Um... ooh! The Zimmerman case?"

"Yeah," He nodded, "Yeah I think so."

"Yeah, I remember." She nodded. "What about it?"

"You know how I said I was two blocks away and I'd be right there?"

"Yeah..."

"I was on the other side of the city. Like on the _other_ side of the city."

"But you were there in like ten minutes."

"I turned the lights on... and floored it."

"Why?" Lindsay implored. "Danny, baby... you didn't have to, I could have asked Adam."

"Exactly!" Danny cried, "I couldn't have let that happen... I obviously realised afterwards how hung up I was over you. Not to mention I had dibs."

"Caveman," Haley coughed to which earned her a glare from her sister and a shushing from Nathan.

"You promised me drinks, and I didn't want you to call Adam and offer him the same thing... or even worse," he said with a shudder: "Flack."

"Now Flack I can see your concern there," she teased. "But didn't it occur to you that you were my first choice?"

"Nope." Danny shook his head. "It wasn't till after when I realised how crazy I was...I broke about fifteen traffic laws in getting to you... then of course there was the instance of holdin' hands showin' you all about Cadaveric spasms, and I thought I was going to combust there on the spot..."

Lindsay giggled at the recollection of his blatant discomfort at their chemistry and connection that had sparked the second their hands had touched.

"And then there was the overwhelming necessity to wind you up on your first day."

"And every day after that." She added with a twinkle in her eyes.

"And then when you ate that spider..."

"Whoa, hang up the phone a second here," Dana gasped. "Lindsay_ ate_ a spider?"

"Mom," Lindsay shook her head frantically.

"Get out of here," Brad laughed.

"He's lying!" Kyle smirked.

"What's the deal with this?" Danny laughed. "There a story I don't know about?"

"Lindsay... Lindsay's got a terrible phobia of spiders, Danny."

Instantly, Danny burst into fits of laughter. "Alright, yeah... sure thing."

"No, seriously." Kyle nodded to support his mother's admission. "Linds is horrible... can't even deal with the little things. I don't remember a time when she didn't cry hysterically at the sight of one."

"Nah, no way." Danny shook his head. "Babe, they're messin' with me, right?"

Sitting motionless, Lindsay tracked her food back and forth on her plate with help from her fork.

"And the secrets start spilling out," Brad smirked towards Haley.

"Linds?" Danny turned with inquiring eyes. "What's the deal?"

Dragging a hand over her face she swallowed before turning to face her husband. "I'm scared of spiders."

"Ahem." Jack chirped in.

"Terrified," she self corrected. "Absolutely terrified."

"Yet... you ate a tarantula, out of your own free will?" Danny said in disbelief. "Baby, what... what the hell were you thinking?"

She blushed and shrugged, to which instantly sparked something in Haley. The elder Monroe sister gasped as her eyes twinkled, her reaction complete with one hand stretching across the table pointing wildly at Lindsay and the other banging excitedly on the table. "Oh! Oh!"

"What now?" Lindsay growled.

"She was trying to impress you!" Haley squealed excitedly. "Was it in a situation where you'd be impressed?"

Danny glanced sideways at Lindsay slowly. "It was very much so a situation that would impress me... and lose me a twenty."

"And there you have it," Haley giggled, clapping her hands together. "Lindsay Monroe can get over her irrational phobia of spiders through biting the head of a fat juicy-"

"La-la-la-la!" Lindsay cried as she shoved her fingers in her ears. "Daddy! Make her stop."

"Haley," Jack sighed. "Come on, we know how Lindsay feels about spiders. We don't even mention the C-word when it comes to you..."

"C word?" Danny warranted a look at Haley. His eyes caught Nathan and watched as his brother-in-law to be mouthed out the letters C-L-O-W-N.

"You're afraid of clowns?" He asked; which gained him a screech from Haley.

"Bet you're regretting marrying into this," Nathan chuckled as he looked up from his dinner momentarily.

"Why, are you?"

"I haven't yet," Nathan teased. "I still have time to escape, you however, buddy... you're doomed. Although, this being said, you got the normal Monroe..."

"Thanks," Lindsay scowled at Nathan.

Silence filled the table momentarily, allowing Danny to finally dig into his enchiladas. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Dana staring at him, looking for discomfort on his face at the spice. To reassure her, he reached for another enchilada and plopped it on his plate. Seeing that she'd settled comfortably in her seat, he could feel himself relax slightly.

Reaching for his drink from the kick that was left behind from the enchilada; he took a gulp of his milk. _Damn it's spicy,_ he thought to himself. _Lindsay's doing well._

Which was when his blood ran cold; Lindsay... spice. He couldn't help it as his heart raced. He'd... he knew... If Lindsay... she... _shit! _ He inwardly cried as she reached for another enchilada.

His eyes widened and he placed his hand on top of Lindsay's. "Do you really think you need that baby?"

Dropping her fork to the table, Lindsay turned to look at her husband. "Excuse me?"

"That?" he pointed to the Enchilada. "Do you really think you need it?"

"See, I thought that was what you said, but I was sure that I was hearing things because there's no way in hell you'd say such a thing to me..."

"It's just; I don't know whether it's a good idea babe."

"Why, in case I put on one more pound? My body's changed Danny, I get that... You don't need to point it out to my entire family."

"Babe, no... No, God... I didn't mean it like that."

"I can't believe you! I thought out of everyone, I could rely on _you_ not to make fun of me or say stuff to wind me up. You know how conscious I am. Thanks Danny, thanks a lot."

"Babe... listen-"

"I know you're a little tactless sometimes Danny, but that was just pure spite. What the hell were you thinking saying that?"

"Linds-"

"No, don't even - I don't want to know!"

"Lindsay, listen what I meant was-"

"Don't even think of back-peddling now Danny," she spat at him as she shoved her plate away from her.

"Lindsay, wait." Danny pleaded pathetically with her. "Don't... don't-"

Lindsay didn't even wait to hear his empty pleas. She shoved her chair back and stormed out of the living room and stamped up every single stair on the staircase before slamming her bedroom door, twice, for effect he could only assume.

Danny let out a sigh before turning back to the table. He blinked as he realised he was sat at a table filled with red faced and angry Monroe's, staring back at him. He closed his eyes and let out a breath. _He was in serious trouble._

_

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_**Oh no! Danny, what were you thinking, saying that to her! Well, see Fred and I know, but I wonder if you guys do too... I hope not, but we'll see. **

**Please don't hurt me. Please? ... is that a okay? *phew* **

**Thanks for reading guys - hope you enjoyed. As ever, I'd love to know what you thought :) **


	64. Innocent

**A/N: So it looks like a even field - I get the impression you some of you know what the dealio is here, which is good. whereas other's don't seem sure.. which is even better! **

**Funny story, I was writing my last assignment until March *pause for freak out* at the same time I was writing this, and I'm at home for the Holidays still, so every time I laughed or smirked at something I'd written (because I'm that lame,) the mother, who was on assignment patrol turned abruptly and demanded to see my screen (I'm assuming she thought I was on Facebook/twitter/other means of procrastination.) the look on her face when I showed her a word document = priceless... She didn't need to know what I was laughing at. Although now I'm pretty sure she thinks that I think the value and purpose of Humanities in the school curriculum is hilarious... oops! :p**

**And as a side note and a little activity, towards the end of the chapter I get a little mean and poke fun at... Well, if you're as much as a stalker as me, you may pick it up, maybe, possibly... ****Megan – I expect you to get it within seconds. Be warned. Also, there is an expectation for ****hank you to all of those who read and a bigger one to those who took the time to review last chapter! You guys are awesome and I love you all! and thank you all for the birthday wishes, that was really sweet! :)**

**Special ****you (and anyone else who watches One Tree Hill) to pick up on the season 8 reference for Naley. No pressure.**

******Huge t**mentions to: Sweet LIL loz, LoveIsInTheAir4DL, saderia, rhymenocerous, McGem, 18lzytwner, brendanakai, Lindsay1234, afrozenheart412, NothatRose, cklovesm-m**, and last but not least, **unlikelyRLshipper** (nice to have you back kiddo! :))**

**Oh, and HAPPY NEW YEAR! Let's hope 2011 brings us more DLL! :D**

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**Innocent – Taylor Swift**

_Its okay and life is a tough crowd, 32 and still growin' up now. Who you are is not what you did; you're still an innocent... every one of us have messed up too._

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Danny swallowed as he waited with baited breath for the reaction from his outburst.

Jack Monroe simply stood from the table, threw his napkin down and silently excused himself. By the shaking on the staircase, he was taking them two at a time after his little girl. Dana stood and began to collect empty dishes to take to the kitchen and wash.

Danny glanced to assess the situation with Lindsay's brothers. Kyle was clutching his knife and Brad had a napkin tightly grasped in his fist and Nathan was looking mighty uncomfortable... but none of them were giving him the same feeling of fear in comparison to the death glares Haley was tossing in his direction.

"Excuse me," Kyle muttered as he threw his knife to the table and stormed out of the room, Brad and Nathan close on his tail.

Danny glanced at Haley before shoving his plate away from him and holding his head in his hands. "Fuck my life."

Silence rang in the room as Danny mentally beat himself up as he replayed his and Lindsay's conversation in his head over and over again. God he was a moron. He knew Lindsay was sensitive, and he knew that how he was expressing himself wasn't in the right way... he knew exactly what he meant, and he'd meant it for the best, but she hadn't understood that.

"Get explainin'," he heard from across the table.

"Haley, don't."

"Listen, for the sake of your health; get explaining. It's better to have someone on side then the whole lot of us against you Danny, trust me. I really think you didn't mean it the way it sounded but-"

"With all due respect Haley, this hasn't got anything to do with you. So if you don't mind I'm gonna sit here and try figure out a plan to stall my wife filing divorce papers 'cause she thinks I just called her fat."

"Divorce papers?" Haley rolled her eyes. "Pal, you haven't been married that long, she'd be getting an annulment."

"You're not helping," he barked at her. "Seriously Haley, take a hint and butt out for once; this isn't any of your business."

"You make my sister feel like that in front of me Danny, you make it my business. Why the hell did you say that to her? I'm not being horrible Danny, but you're with her family right now, and however you treat her in New York is fine... that's your business and there's nothing I can do about that, but if you do it in front of me, then I'm sorry but I'm not letting it fly, alright? I tried to be nice, but you're just being shitty, so fine... the one ally you could have had right now is telling you to screw yourself... good luck."

"Haley," Danny sighed. "I'm not usually like this with her. I've never said anything-" he trailed off as he realised he couldn't finish the sentence he wanted to say. He had said hurtful things to her in the past. "I've never said anything about her weight; she's perfect to me whatever size she is. Be it a size two or twenty-two."

"So what's the problem? Why are you acting the way you are?"

"Enchiladas; they're spicy."

"What are you changing the subject for? And to something so random; for God's sake, Danny... can't you treat anything like it's important?Lindsay's upstairs crying because of you! I'm sick of you treating her like this!"

"Spicy foods can induce labour, Haley... I'm not being completely random."

Haley blinked. "Excuse me?"

"Spicy foods can induce labour... I thought if she had another one, then... well, I don't know; I was scared of what could happen."

Haley blinked at her brother-in-law. "Are you serious?"

Danny nodded. "I'm worried. I know we're getting closer to the end-game now, and I want to keep our little girl safe for as long as possible. I didn't mean for her to get upset, because I knew what I was talkin' about I figured Linds did too. I was just... scared, and to be honest, I still am... I mean it's surely not an instant reaction, what if her water breaks?"

"Danny, that's just an old wives' tale...there hasn't been any research that says that eating any spicy foods will induce labour or start contractions. What are you panicking for?"

"I did research Haley... if you know, we needed it when it came to the time, and women say that they had spicy food a few hours prior to going into labour. What if she taps me on the shoulder tonight at like three in the morning saying her water's broken and she's in labour? What then?"

"Then to the hospital we go," Haley shrugged. "She could go into labour in fifteen minutes, or she could be two weeks late Danny... if her body isn't ready to go into labour yet, then it won't... and the bottom line is that you can't get this stressed out about little things like that, because she needs you Danny. "

"If we're unprepared though Haley, something could go wrong and I can't lose Lindsay; I can't lose either of them."

"You won't lose them Danny." Haley said, reassured him. "So don't even think that way."

"It just scares me."

"Let it scare you by all means, just don't let it consume you... and don't let yourself insult your hormonal pregnant wife with potential weight comments... I mean God, I'd kill Nathan if he said that to me right now and I'm perfectly happy with my size."

"So I don't have much tact," Danny concluded. "This isn't helping my save my marriage nor is it helping me before I get murdered by an angry father-in-law."

"He'll survive it," Haley shrugged. "He'll just be wiping her tears. He's good at that."

"No." Danny shook his head. "He'll kill me."

"Well, I'm good at chest compressions," she shrugged. "Linds can do the mouth-to-mouth... you'll be fine."

Danny shook his head at her. "You can kill the tension in any conversation, can't you?"

"Yup," she chuckled. "Just chill out, alright? You'll be fine, just explain to her what you really meant and give her a kiss and a hug and she'll be putty in your hands again."

"Okay," he nodded as he let out a relieved breath. "Thanks Haley."

"No problem but while I've got you here..." Haley trailed off. "There's just a few things I just want to say."

Narrowing his eyes, Danny sat in his chair a little straighter. "There is?"

"Yeah." She nodded. "And you might not like it, but I need to say it."

"I've already had this from your Dad, Haley..."

"Well, he's a softy when it comes to Lindsay, he hears what he wants to hear and he's happy..."

"And you're not quite the same?"

"Not quite," Haley shook her head as she leant across the table and lowered her voice. "She told me what you did. I think she told me before you even knew what you were doing."

"Probably." Danny nodded in agreement.

"It was a pretty dick move."

"Literally." Danny nodded. "And yeah it was."

"Why'd you do it?" Haley lowered her voice. "Why were you so cruel to her? Couldn't you see how much she loved you? How much you were hurting her?"

"No," he shook his head. "I honestly couldn't see anything Haley."

"I just don't understand. You two were so close and then it was like a train-wreck. You fought so hard to be with her and then you messed up everything you two had. I just don't get how you could fight for someone for so long to just completely forget about them."

"Because I felt that... geez Haley, you don't really want to know all this shit do you?"

"Yeah," she nodded. "You fucked my little sister up pretty good... I'd love to know what was going through your head at the time."

Running his fingers through his hair, Danny let out a sigh. "Honestly? I don't know."

"I hope you gave her a better reason than that..." Haley said with pursed lips.

"Of course I did!" Danny spat. "So much has happened since then though, I just can't remember what I said to her, but I did-"

"You really hurt her," she cut him off "you know that right?"

"Yeah Haley, I do know that. I try not to think about it."

"Well you should," she growled. "Because hopefully it'll remind you not to do it again."

"Oh believe me, this lesson only needed to be learnt once. We're not going down that road again, trust me."

"You better not." Haley growled. "Because the last thing I want to hear again is her sobbing down the phone at me."

"She called you? Crying?"

"Every night for about two weeks Danny; she was in pieces, absolute pieces. You seriously really hurt her."

"She said that I was messing with her work and breaking her heart, but I never realised how much it affected her."

"Well it did," Haley shrugged. "It really affected her, but you should have known that, considering all that you guys went through with the trial. You saw how it consumed her and affected her work back then... this was no different Danny."

"Haley, it's a little different." Danny pointed out to her. "Heartbreak is nothing in comparison to being a sole survivor to a mass murder."

"Not when she loved you as much as she did, Danny. Without you, she had no one."

"No, she had people." Danny shook his head. "I know Flack was there for her the entire time. And she went for drinks with Jess and Stella."

"Yeah," Haley nodded. "But Flack, Stella and Jess weren't you; the only person she wanted to cry to was you, and she couldn't have you because one, you were the reason behind her crying and two, you were off comforting some other woman. How on earth do you think she was able to deal with knowing that?"

"I honestly don't know Haley. I really don't."

"I mean you must have, considerin' you managed to knock her up pretty good. I mean hell, I know she's pregnant and all, but God Danny, have you seen the size of her? Your kid is going to be like fifty pounds!"

"Hey," he barked. "You mind? I get that she's your sister and all, but don't talk about her like that."

"Just saying," she smirked. "I know that if Nathan did that to me, he'd have to do a hell of a lot to get me back on the pool table."

"She told you that?"

"Sex on a pool table? Hell yes she did." Haley smirked with a twinkle in her eyes. "Nathan didn't know what to do with himself when I gave him a pool cue and told him that if he made any shot he could do whatever he wanted-"

"We're not that close yet Haley!" Danny cried, desperate to stop his sister-in-law from finishing her sentence. "Jesus."

"At least tell me you made things right with her... you told her the truth?"

"And nothing but the truth," Danny nodded.

"And you came clean? About everything?"

"About what I did?" Danny tried to confirm what Haley was hinting at. "It wasn't easy but yeah, I did, it was the least I could do. As soon as she told me she was pregnant, I told her everything."

"Why?"

"Why? Because I wanted her to know what she was getting herself into; I didn't want it to come back two or three years down the line and she find out then. At least she could make the decision on whether she wanted to be with me there and then."

Haley nodded in understanding. "Well I'm glad. Linds... she's been through a lot you know? It's killed me to see her hurting like she has; she hasn't had it easy; especially when we were younger. I mean she was so close to the girls and to have them taken away like that must have just... it's horrible. And I know she thinks of you as her best friend Danny; she says it all the time. And when you guys... when you went through that rough patch, all she kept saying on the phone was that she'd lost her best friend all over again, and I think it hurt her more because you were right there in front of her and there was just no way of getting you back. At least when she lost the girls, there was no getting them back... with you, she was sat waiting in limbo."

"I hate that I did that to her." He said simply. "I do Haley, believe me."

"Well, I guess the past is in the past," she shrugged. "I just wanted to talk to you about it because there was just some questions she kept dodging and I wanted to make sure things were... okay, you know? She's just so far away I like to do my big sister thing whenever I can."

"Yeah, I get it," he nodded. "I would probably do the same if I had a sister."

"You don't?"

"Nope, just me and my big brother, Louie."

"Ahh," Haley nodded. "Well, for the record, I'm glad it's this Danny that I'm meeting because the other Danny wouldn't have survived being in a room with me."

"I'm glad you met this Danny too."

"I'm also glad that you fucked dinner up so you and I could have this little chat."

"Aw, you did good for a while there... made me forget that I'd been a douchebag."

"Oh, ask Nathan I'm good at reminding you about what you did when you'd just about forgotten."

"I'll make sure we compare notes." Danny rolled his eyes. "I better go and-"

"Go ahead," Haley nodded towards the stairs, smiling brightly when she saw Jack stood on the stairs. "I was just sendin' him up."

Nodding silently continued down the stairs with a unreadable look across his face.

"Jack.."

"You better get your ass up there and beg for forgiveness, son."

"Yes sir."

"She's pissed."

"It's not how it sounded," he blurted out to his father in law, "I meant that the enchiladas were spicy and I didn't want her to-"

"I know," Jack cut him off. "I knew the whole time, don't worry."

"You – you did?"

"Yep," Jack nodded. "But I haven't said that to her, I thought it was best coming from you. I just handed her tissues and gave her a few well timed hugs."

Danny nodded. "I'll get better at being a husband, won't I?"

Laying a hand on his son-in-law's shoulder, Jack let out a chuckle. "You're doing better than you think."

"I'm not so sure about that."

"Danny, trust me, you're doing fine."

"I'll take your word for it," He offered a shy smile. "Is she in her room?"

"Yep, good luck son."

"Thanks." Danny laughed as he took the stairs two at a time. _God was he going to need it after what he'd said. _

He quickly made his way down the hallway and knocked on Lindsay's door lightly.

"Go away!"

Ignoring her, Danny let himself into his wife's bedroom and instantly dodged the flying teddy bear that was strategically aimed at his head.

"What did I say? Shut the door when you leave."

"Babe."

"I mean it Danny, just fuck off!"

He swallowed as his eyes widened. She'd cursed at him. _This was serious shit he was in. _

Tentatively settling on the edge of Lindsay's bed, Danny ran his hand down her back as she faced away from him. "Baby..."

"Go away," she said, her voice barely above a whisper, with a hint of tears. "Just go away Danny. I think you've said enough to me for one day."

"Babe, listen to me a second, k?"

"You made your thoughts plainly obvious downstairs Danny, I don't have the time for your crap, just leave me alone, alright?"

"Linds... look at me."

"No. Leave me alone. Shut the door on your way out. My Daddy's makin' up the guest room for you. You can fuck off back to New York tomorrow as well. I don't want you here anymore."

"Stop bein' stubborn and look at me," he said, but rather than it being abrupt like his words suggested, he had a light tone. "Baby..."

She edged closer towards him but didn't turn, so instead he kicked his shoes off and lay down next to her. He wrapped his arm around her, settling his hand on her bump. "Alright, your way works too."

She failed in saying anything, leaving Danny to take the lead.

"What I said honey, I didn't mean it like that."

"Sure sounded like it." She huffed, "there isn't many ways you can interpret what you said, Danny."

"There is when you hear it from my point of view, sweetheart. Give me a chance, k?"

Sighing, she slowly and steadily turned in his arms. "What?"

"Enchiladas are spicy."

"Well done Captain Obvious." She growled. "You're a dumbass but you don't see me changing the subject."

"No babe, enchiladas are spicy and it's suggested that spicy foods induce labour."

Lindsay opened her mouth for a moment, but when words failed her she closed her mouth again, a look of awe and uncertainty plastered on her face. "Huh?"

"I've been doing spots of reading about how to induce labour if it came down to it, and I remember Ross and Rachel eating all that spicy crap to induce Rachel's labour and when I saw you digging in, I freaked out because I thought – well, I thought that this little one might be eager in meetin' us and it scared me. Especially after Haley had pissed you off as much as she had. I thought that a combination of that and then you eating spicy foods... I really don't want to meet this one just yet, and what I said...I said it before I'd had chance to hear what it sounded like."

Blinking at her husband, "Really?"

"Scouts honour," he promised. "Here," he held out his pinky. "I'll do you one better, pinky promise."

She latched her pink to his and looked up at him through her teary eyes. "Jerk."

"I know, I know." He nodded slowly as he pressed a kiss to her forehead. "I'm sorry kiddo."

"You were horrible! Why did you have to be so abrupt?"

"Because babe, I imagined Lucy-"

"Lydia," She corrected.

"Lucy just making an appearance right then and there and I had to say it before it was too late."

She blinked at him. "You do realise labour isn't like that at _all._"

"Well yeah," he blushed. "I know it's a lot longer and it's a bitch and it's gonna hurt like hell, but I just... I want all of that in New York, like how we planned it."

"And it will be Danny," she assured him. "I'm nowhere near my due-date yet, we've got plenty of time."

"I just... I want to keep her safe for as long as possible."

"I know you do." She nodded. "You just need to think carefully before you speak when you're around your hormonal wife."

"Yeah," he nodded. "You'd think I'd have learnt by now. Thirty-two and I'm still growin' up... messin' up. How the hell do you put up with me?"

"It takes time," she smiled. "You'll get the hang of it eventually. I'm not perfect either you know."

"If you say so," he sighed.

"What's this bad mood for?" she prodded his nose with her finger. "I've just said I forgive you, and you don't have to drag your ass back to New York tomorrow, nor do you have to sleep on the lumpy guest bed tonight... you should be happy. You get to cuddle me! What could possibly be better?"

"I am happy," he assured her. "I just... Haley and I-"

"What did she say?" Lindsay sighed.

"No, it's nothing like that," he shook his head. "Well, it is, but it was totally deserved. She was sticking up for you."

"Did she melt afterwards?"

"Linds, c'mon, she loves you a hell of a lot and she just wants to look out for you."

"I'm sure she does," Lindsay rolled her eyes. "She just loves to wind me up."

"And if the tables were turned, you'd be the exact same and you know it." He smiled at her.

"Maybe." She shrugged. "I just – what did she say to you?"

"A lot of overdue stuff for her I think. It just made me feel really shitty, and then on top of what I already said to you..."

"But what did she say?"

"She just wanted my side of what went down when... when I..."

"When you slept with Rikki?"

"Yeah. That," he cringed. "Not one for beating around the bush today? Did you miss the part where I said I was feelin' shitty?"

"What can I say? I'm still irritable and I'm still a tiny bit pissed with you." She shrugged. "What did she say?"

"Just gave me the shit I deserved. Made sure I'd made it up to you and told you the truth. Everything an older sister does for her baby sis. She gave me hell. She'd do well at interrogation."

Lindsay nodded as she wrapped Danny's arms around her waist. "She really loves me, doesn't she?"

"Just as much as you love her," he whispered into her ear. "I know she winds you up, but she really cares about you Linds, and I can tell she loves having you around. She misses you when you're in New York."

"I know," Lindsay sighed. "That's why... I think that's why I'm trying to detach myself in my mind so that it isn't so hard when I don't have her around twenty-four/seven anymore when we fly back."

"Don't do that," Danny shook his head against her's. "Babe, that's hurting you and her. You need to make the most of the time you guys have together, because who knows when we're gonna make it back after Lucy gets here."

"Lydia."

"Lucy."

"Whatever," she growled at him. "I know... it's just, I miss her, you know?"

"Well, she can always visit. You two can take the bed and I can kip on the couch. That isn't a problem babe."

"Danny, you're not sleeping on the couch."

"For you baby, I'd sleep outside on the sidewalk if it meant you were happy."

"Sap," she giggled before going rigid in his embrace.

"Linds?"

"Danny..." Her tone was worried.

"Baby?" he sat up and looked at her. "Linds? What's the matter?"

"Danny, Danny... the baby... she... I think she's on her way."

"What?" he cried, jumping off the bed and instantly began to pace. "What? Seriously? What?"

"The baby," she said, sitting up. "I... I think my water just broke."

Paling in the face, Danny stopped dead in his tracks as he assessed the situation in front of him. "Alright babe, listen to me... you're okay. You're in a position where she's going to be okay. You're only about a month from your due date, and babies are always premature. They survive when they're tiny... there's babies more premature than eight months and are fine." Taking a deep breath, Danny paused. "Fuck! I'm not ready for this; she was supposed to be born in New York!"

"Well, she's eager."

"Is there no way you can just like cross your legs and keep her in there?"

Biting her lip, Lindsay tried to control her laughter at the look on his face. "Got ya," she teased.

"What?" He gasped.

"I'm not really going into labour." She admitted. "I just... I wanted to screw with you. Teach you for makin' me feel bad about eatin',"

"What?"

"I haven't really gone into labour" she repeated "you're so easy. I was just... making you feel bad. It was a cheap shot, granted... but you hurt my feelings."

"You just gave me a heart-attack!" He bellowed at her before he jumped back on the bed. "Lindsay, that wasn't funny."

"It was a little funny..."

"Like fuck it was! I was... Lindsay! That so... how... how could you?"

"You told me to stop eating!" she implored. "And you know what I'm like... surely you saw that coming!"

Shaking his head slowly, Danny looked to his wife in disbelief. "That was a brutal move Montana... brutal."

"Got'cha though." She giggled.

"And you look so innocent on the outside... inside you're just a little schemer, aren't ya?" he teased, but the look on his face told her that she had really, _really_ scared him.

"Innocent I may be," she giggled. "but you shouldn't underestimate my innocence and what I can get away with, with my pretty face and impeccable acting skills."

"Should have been an actress," Danny shook his head. "You missed your true calling, babe."

"Probably did," she laughed. "But had I been an A-list actress I'd be most likely on the ex-list of Brian Austin Green and that'd just make me sad."

"Why, 'cause you'd lost out to that chick Vanessa what's-her-face that used to be on General Hospital."

Biting her lip, Lindsay fought the laughter that threatened to spill from her.

"What?"

"General Hospital? How do you know _anyone_ on or _anything _about General Hospital?"

"Hey, when I get bored I YouTube things."

"So you YouTube General Hospital? Oh baby, please... let's get you a hobby."

"Wait, rewind, go back... why would being an ex of his make you sad?"

"I wouldn't have met you, silly."

"Even after all that I've done?" He asked her with raised eyebrows.

She shrugged as she cupped his rugged cheek with her hand and pressed a soft kiss to his lips. "Not everyone is perfect... but you're close enough to perfect for me."

"Linds," he looked at her pointedly. "Come on. Get real; I'm no-where near perfect."

"For me you are," she smiled. "I just have to fine-tweak you a little."

Rolling his eyes, he pushed her softly so she laid across her double bed on her back and he settled into her side. He softly pressed a string of kisses from her lips to her neck.

He might not be perfect, nor was he innocent in some of the things he'd did... but he was always up for a little bit of fine-tweaking from her, because to him, she was perfect. Innocent however... his wife was far from innocent.

But he wouldn't have her any other way.

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**There we go, another chapter. Hope you guys liked it! Thanks for reading. And as ever, thoughts are always loved and appreciated!**

**Until next time... :) **


	65. Personal Soldier

**A/N: Hi All! Me again! :) Just a quick(ish?) update. I won't gush on and on this chapter, because well, it's nearly 3am, and I have to be up at 10 and it'll be a longggg day, so yes... we just wanted to update because I probably won't get the chance to do so in the next few days. **

**Special thanks and huggles go to all that read/reviewed last chapter. You guys are all so cute and I just adore you all. You're so good at making my days a lot brighter with your lovely words! So huge special mentions to: **saderia, messermonroeforever125, NothatRose, Meggie, brendanakai, cklovesm-m, countrygirl103, afrozenheart412 and 18lzytwner

**So here we go - hope you enjoy!**

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**Personal Soldier – The Wanted **

_I'll be your hero whose standing strong, who protects you from any fight. And if your battles are piling on, I will take them on with all my might. Cry your tears on my shoulder. You don't know what the future holds; so I'll be your personal soldier._

* * *

Snuggling into her husband's side, Lindsay Messer let out a sigh. As content as she was, occupying herself was getting a little tedious. And as sad as it was, she missed him. He was laid right next to her, tangled in the sheets with her, but she missed him.

She'd been up since nine and used the extra time to herself to check her emails as she watched the news, catching up on current affairs. Then, after figuring Danny wasn't planning on waking up any time soon, she'd gone into Bozeman with Haley to have lunch, and then they'd decided on a bit of shopping. After that, they had headed off to pick up some groceries at the store for their mother.

And in that time, Danny hadn't even batted an eyelid.

So, when she'd gotten home, she'd slipped back into her pyjamas and snuggled back into bed next to him, tangling herself back in his arms and the warm bed sheets, settling her head on his arm. Which resulted in her current position; snuggling into his side.

His decision in coming out after her was the best decision he'd ever made. Well, one of many, she thought. The time she'd spent with her family altogether was something she'd treasure forever. Danny getting suspended from work had happened for a reason, and the reason was to integrate him seamlessly into the Monroe family, just as she had been perfectly placed into the Messer family.

She'd spent a significant amount of time over the past few years, day-dreaming about the time where Danny would meet her family. They'd been extravagant and far-fetched at times, but never once did she imagine it playing out the way it had. In all the times that she imagined introducing Danny to her family, it had never been in Montana.

She let out a sigh and prodded his nose lightly, fed up now of simply watching over him as he slept. When she realised she'd gained no response, she prodded a little more firmly and grinned as his forehead creased.

Stretching, Danny let out a yawn before snuggling further into his wife's side. It took him a few moments, but after finding comfort next to her, he warranted a glance; instantly cringing when the light blinded him.

"Good morning," she giggled before warranting a glance at the alarm clock. "Wait, good afternoon."

Finally opening his eyes, he shook his head "I'll have you know I was up earlier." He grinned at her cheekily as he pressed a kiss to her cheek. "I was just takin' a nap."

"It doesn't count as a nap if you haven't been up, Danny."

"I just told you I've been up. I was up earlier."

"Awake and up aren't the same thing, Danny. Up is up and out of bed. Awake is staying in bed _all day_."

"Hey, there's nothing wrong with staying in bed all day."

"Baby, it's three-thirty... in the afternoon."

"So?"

"You haven't done a thing today."

"Actually, I went to the bathroom at around eleven-thirty. So today isn't a total bust."

"You haven't eaten all day?"

"I don't think it'll kill me sweetheart."

Lindsay held the back of her hand to his head. "Are you feeling okay?" She teased. "You? Not wanting to eat? I thought the world was supposed to end in 2012, not today..."

"Oh hush," he rolled his eyes. "So long as you've been eatin', it don't matter what I do." He paused, "Wait, you ate today, right?"

"I had breakfast, a snack, lunch, another snack... then another... then another."

"Alright," he chuckled. "I get it."

"I haven't got a clue how I'm going to shift this baby weight once she's born. I've put on about three-thousand pounds."

"Whatever." Danny laughed.

"Hey! You're supposed to tell me I haven't."

"Babe..." he laughed. "You know I think you're perfect just the way you are."

"Well." She huffed. "Would it kill you to say it?"

Pressing a kiss to her temple, Danny accepted defeat as she glared at him. "Well, I know of a few ways you'll be able to shift the baby weight."

"You do? How?"

Simply wiggling his eyebrows, he licked his lips before winking at her. "You know." He attempted a seductive tone, but failed. Epically.

"Danny!" she cried. "That's what got me into this mess!"

"Well, the offer is there on the table, or the pool table, or the kitchen table." He smirked. "You know they say that sex is like a cardio work-out. There ain't no need to join the gym or go to the tennis courts... just an hour session with your husband a day and you'll be back to your size two in no time."

"Danny I haven't been a size two for about three years."

"That's an absolute lie," he informed her. "Up until you got pregnant you were size two."

"And you know this how?"

"I do your laundry," he informed her. "I saw the labels."

"Alright Sherlock." She rolled her eyes, "Whatever you say."

Deciding to change the subject, he went for a new topic. "What did you get up to today then?"

"Watched the news, checked my emails, went for lunch with Haley, went shopping, did some grocery shopping... and then came back here and got back into bed and stared at you." She smirked.

"Well, what can I say; I am quite the handsome chap."

"And an Englishman from the 1940's apparently. If that accent was intended Danny, it was terrible."

"And you'd do better?"

"I think I have quite the splendid British accent, actually." She attempted a British accent.

"Splendid? Babe, if you can find me one person that uses the word 'splendid' daily, I'll give you a hundred dollars."

"Oh yeah, tell me: how well did that work out for you last time?"

"Not so well," he admitted. "Well actually I take that back... it depends on how you look at it. I got very lucky in some respects... and you know, when I got you; what's a hundred dollars?"

"Pretty good answer," she smiled. "I'm impressed."

"I'm learning." He smiled. "So... does your family think I jumped out the window last night and ran away after last night's episode?"

"No," Lindsay shook her head. "Although they seem to be referring to you as sleeping beauty... Not sure how easy that's going to be to shake. Lord knows Montana's attached to me for the rest of my life now."

"Don't even pretend you don't love me callin' you Montana." He smirked at her. "How did they know I was asleep?"

"Well Danny, we tend to be glued at the hip, so when you fail to leave the bedroom all day, either I sat on you and squished you, you ran away, or you're asleep. I get the impression they went for asleep."

Rolling his eyes, Danny let out a sigh. "Come here you, you're too far away," he said laying his arm out across her pillow, indicating for her to snuggle into his side.

"What?" she giggled.

"Talk to me, tell me what you're thinking."

"About what Dr. Phil?"

"Hey, I'm bein' serious here."

"I know, I'm sorry... about what though?"

"I dunno, everything. You, me, the baby..." He trailed off. "We haven't had the chance to talk about things for a while... and now that we've had time to relax and let things settle in, how are you feeling?"

She looked at him through her lashes with a look of uncertainty. "Since when have you ever wanted to talk about feelings?"

"I think you underestimate me, Mrs. Messer. I sneak the feelings conversations in more than you think."

"Oh you do, do you?"

"Yep," he chuckled. "So come on, how do you feel? You glad you married me?"

Looking at him, she settled a little more comfortably with her head on his chest, as his spare hand came to rest on their growing daughter. "So far?"

"Yeah," Danny nodded.

"Marrying you was the best decision I ever made." She giggled.

"That's what I wanted to hear," he smiled as he pressed a kiss to the crown of her head. "Hear that kiddo, Mommy's not regrettin' marryin' Daddy. That's gotta be a good start."

"Although, I do sometimes wish we could have done it a bit differently." She interrupted, wary of the fact he may change the subject. "Like I would have loved for our families to have been there, some more friends, you know?"

"Yeah," he nodded and sighed. "And that's my fault, I should have thought about that before I jumped in headfirst."

"No, no it isn't you, and I didn't mean it like that. I wouldn't change that day for anything. I guess it's just the idea of a wedding and having everyone there... you know the typical wedding everyone expects you to have? Our wedding was just... I don't know; it was perfect for us. It was unassuming and there wasn't any fuss; just you and I and those promises we made to each other."

"I wish I could have given you a massive wedding though. Seeing you in a white dress, your hair all nice, set of bridesmaids... Flack eye-fucking Jess across the alter as we say I do."

"I wouldn't want a massive wedding. Just the people we love the most."

"So you would want a wedding then?"

"Maybe in the future." Lindsay suggested. "Have Lydia be the flower girl. I'm sure she'd love to see Mommy and Daddy get married."

"Yep, Lucy would love to do that, right kiddo?"

"Lydia," Lindsay corrected.

"Lucy." He warned, his voice stern, but the look on his face indicated he was joking. Well,_ almost _joking.

"Why do you hate Lydia so much?" She asked with a tinge of hurt in her voice.

"I don't hate it; I just don't see it for our little girl."

"You haven't even met her yet! How do you know if she's a Lucy?"

"How do you know if she's a Lydia?"

"Mother's instinct." She replied without missing a beat.

"Daddy's love." He countered. "She's a Daddy's girl and she wants the name Daddy picked out, right sweetheart?" Danny directed his question to Lindsay's protruding belly, instantly earning a swift movement from their daughter. "See," he smirked in response. "Told ya."

"I feel that was more of a 'Daddy, stop being mean to Mommy, I prefer Lydia,' movement."

"You're delusional." He informed her. "That was most definitely an agreement to Lucy."

Lindsay let out a huge sigh as she curled her fingertips around his cotton t-shirt he'd slept in.

"What's wrong?" he inquired. "That didn't sound like a very good sigh."

Chewing her lip, Lindsay shrugged in her position. "I... I don't know really."

"Babe, if it's about Lucy, you know I'm only messing, right? We can talk about it properly when she gets here."

"No, it's not that. I know the whole Lydia-Lucy thing is just banter. It's... I don't really know how to say it."

"Well, just give it a go and see what happens."

She nodded contemplatively. "I... I'm scared."

"Of what?" Danny asked, his voice soft. "Giving birth?"

"No, well yes but no," Lindsay shook her head, turning slightly so that she could look him in the eyes. "I'm scared of being a Mom."

"What?" he almost laughed. "Linds..."

"Danny, it's not funny. It's something I'm genuinely worried about. It scares me."

"Why baby? What scares you about it?"

"What if I'm not good enough to be her Mom?"

"There's no-body more perfect."

"I'm not so sure about that."

"Well I am."

"Danny, I'm serious."

"And so am I Linds, you have no idea how much this little girl is going to love you. She's going to absolutely adore her Ma. As much as I say she's gonna be a Daddy's girl, I think we both know she's gonna be a Mommy's girl at heart."

"I know... well I like to think so," Lindsay admitted. "I'm just scared. I mean I look at my Mom and I see all the amazing things she's done for us and it's like how can I even compete with all that she's done? I'm nowhere near the place she is."

"She wasn't super-mom in one go Linds, it took your parents four times and what, thirty something years to get it right, and even now, sometimes they don't get it completely right. Yeah, your Mom is one of a kind. She's amazing, but she's not you. You're going to be such an amazing mother; your Mom is going to be learning things from you."

"Danny," Lindsay looked at him with a ridiculous look on her face. "Come on now."

"What?" he implored. "I'm serious Linds, this baby here, she's the luckiest girl in the world... and that's just through having you as a Mom... that's not even taking into account who her Daddy is."

Lindsay let out a giggle before her smiling features fell. "I just... I don't know. Now it's getting closer to the endgame, I'm scared. I'm not sure how ready I am for her to be here. I'm not sure how ready I am to be a Mom."

"Linds, do you remember what you said to me when we were sat in your apartment, talking about the baby? Just after I told you everything about what I'd done and how we were going to make it work?"

She nodded slowly. "Vaguely."

"You told me you didn't think we were capable of doing it. You were scared and you didn't think we were strong enough as a couple to raise a baby."

She nodded in recollection. "I did say that."

"And what did I say to you back then?"

"That we were capable?"

"Yeah, but not just that. I told you it was okay to be scared, but we could do it. I knew back then in your eyes you knew you yourself were capable of raising a baby... you just needed some support and reassurance from someone else. You knew deep down we'd be capable and you'd be a great Mom... you just needed to hear it."

"I'm just still scared. Its one thing thinking you'd do a good job and one thing applying it. Babies don't come with manuals Danny, what are we supposed to do when we take her home from the hospital?"

"We'll figure it out," he promised her. "Our relationship sure as hell didn't come with a manual but we somehow managed to get a hang of it."

"After what, three years?" she implored. "It took us long enough."

"We'll get there." He repeated. "We're gonna be okay Linds, you know that right?"

"I just... I get scared sometimes. The anxiety about everything just gets on top of me."

"And that's when you tell me. I can protect you from all that, I can fight those anxiety battles. I can be the one you can lean on, and cry to. I want to be that guy Linds, you don't have to bottle things up anymore. I'm not going anywhere."

"Danny, you know you're that guy."

"Well then let me do my job, k? I know you're scared, and so am I... but we can do this, okay?

She let out a sigh.

"Do you trust me?" He questioned.

"Of course I trust you,"

"So trust me when I say that you're gonna be an amazing Mom. I know you are."

She pursed her lips together contemplatively. "Hmm,"

"What's there to 'hmm', about babe? You haven't even given yourself a chance yet. You're gonna surprise yourself, I know you will."

"I guess we'll see."

"We will," he nodded as he pressed a kiss to her temple.

He took the silence that fell between them as a chance to work on planning a surprise on a slightly different front. He just hoped that it would work out the way he hoped it would... because if it did? It'd officially the best surprise ever.

Glancing down at her hand that laid on his thigh between them he nodded to himself.

Definitely possible.

* * *

**Muhahahahaha. What is definitely possible you ask? That's secret for now... heheheh! There will be planning though I think if Fred and I are on the same page. Let me know what you think it could be :p **

**Hope you guys liked it. I know Rhymes asked for a little moment of them in bed snuggling together and hey presto, Fred and I worked something out for you! Hope it was fluffy enough for you. ;) **

**Thanks for checking in with the latest! :) **


	66. Daughters

**A/N: Hey folkies! Me again! And I have a exciting news! I realised earlier that this story is an entire year old! A whole year old! That's just insane. I can still remember sitting at my desk back at college in my dorm room debating whether or not to post it... now a whole year later I'm still blabbering on with it! **

**In other Laura news, we just started a six week school placement, so I'm currently getting my teach on. First day = so good, so far! (The teacher I'm working with is amazing!) But we'll see. Hopefully, it won't mean that updates for my stories (or time to read other lovely people's stories) will disappear completely, but at times they may be few and far between... but I'm sure you guys won't mind the break from me! hehe. **

**Huge thank you to all of you who constantly show me support with this story. You have no idea how much I love you guys for keeping me going. All your love makes me and Fred uberly happy :) Soooo... special thankies to: rhymenocerous, saderia, afrozenheart412, 18lzytwner, brendanakai, countrygirl103 and unlikelyRLshipper x2! You cutie for sending me two! hehe :) **

**So that's quite enough of my ramblings, hope you like this chapter :) **

* * *

**Daughters – John Mayer**

_Fathers, be good to your daughters, daughters will love like you do. Girls become lovers who turn into mothers, so mothers, be good to your daughters too..._

* * *

"I'm thirsty." Lindsay announced randomly, breaking the comfortable silence between the two of them.

"Go get something to drink then," Danny suggested lamely, his eyes not leaving the TV screen as he trailed his fingertips up and down her arm.

"That was a hint for you to help me out and go get it for me baby..."

"Hah, good try." He smirked at her. "I went down and got you all of that," he pointed to the empty snack wrappers that lay on her bedside table, "not twenty minutes ago. I'm all for doin' things for you baby, but I ain't your maid."

"That's an image I wouldn't mind seeing," she teased. "You in a French maid outfit... kinky."

"Get gone," he growled as he pulled the comforter off her, letting the cool air from the fan circulating air around their room hit her.

"You're mean," she sniffled. "Pleeeeease." She batted her eyelashes at him. "Pretty please?"

Danny reached for the remote control and simply turned the volume up in response.

"Karma's gonna be a bitch to you," she warned him. "Don't say I didn't warn you, okay?"

"Sure thing babe." He mused, his eyes not leaving the screen.

"Well can you at least pause the movie?" she implored as she heaved her pregnant self out of bed. "Rude..."

"Sure," he hit pause. "Don't be too long,"

"Ugh," she huffed, shuffling her way out of the bedroom and stomping as best she could down the hallway.

He was all for doing things for her. In fact, he preferred doing them himself so he could at least feel a little helpful, considering he'd had quite the role in putting her in the position she was now in. But then he had to remind himself that it took two to tango on a pool table... and she was taking advantage. He was all for going downstairs once, twice, hell – even three times... but after the fifth time of him traipsing downstairs for one thing or another, he'd grown sick of the sight of the Monroe's kitchen. Especially considering his five trips had been within a half an hour. Tough love was a necessity once in a while, and a trip to the kitchen to stretch her legs wouldn't kill her.

Grabbing his phone to occupy himself as Lindsay busied herself downstairs, he jumped slightly as the phone vibrated in his hands.

1 NEW MESSAGE: FLACK.

That was a name he'd not heard of or from for a good week or so. With a smile, he opened his friend's message, expecting some form of good old fashioned abuse.

_Hi there. You may remember me; I used to be your friend. Why aren't you answering your door, prick? I get Lindsay's outta town and all that, but there ain't no need to wallow in your own self pity. Come on man, let me in. _

Smirking, Danny pressed reply.

_Sorry, who are you? I went on a mass deleting spree and got rid of all the morons I don't speak to. _

He didn't have to wait long for a reply.

_Cute. _

Rolling his eyes, Danny once again clicked reply.

_I'm in bed right now. _

Seconds later, his phone buzzed Flack's response. _It's one thirty and it's my day off. We're going to shoot some hoops at the Y. Open up the door douchebag!_

A pang of guilt struck Danny as he realised that his friend was genuine in wanting to spend time with him, and he'd just upped and left well over a week ago now without a second's thought in telling him. He let out a sigh as he tried to come up with something to say... but everything he could think of just seemed so empty. Shrugging, he hit reply. _Buddy, I'm in Montana... when I got suspended I just took off. Beer and Rays when we get back on Thursday; you and me? _

He let out a sigh as he hit reply feeling his heart heavy in his chest.

_Yeah alright. _Was his reply.

Banging his head against Lindsay's headboard, he let out a sigh of guilt. He really hadn't given Flack the time a best friend deserved recently. He'd been so wrapped up in his wife and daughter, everything else just seemed of little importance. Of course he knew that outlook wasn't the best to take, but it was the one he'd taken.

_Buddy, I'm sorry man. I didn't think. _

He had to wait a good few minutes for his reply from Flack. He figured either Flack was pissed and had basically told him to go to hell, or alternatively, he was making his way down the three flights of stairs because without a doubt their elevator would be out of service yet again. Finally, his phone buzzed.

_Danny don't sweat it. Whatever. It's cool. Have a good time. Say Hi to Linds for me. _

Danny sighed as his head hit the headboard. "Danny, say hello to karma..."

* * *

Humming softly to herself, Dana Monroe basked in the warm rays that the Montana sunshine offered as she watered the plants scattered around the porch. Hearing the creak on the old wooden beams of the porch foundations before she felt the arms, she leant against her husband as he wrapped his arms around her from behind.

"How was lunch? Did you have a nice time with Brandon?"

"That old grouch?" Jack huffed, "No different. Still the same; bitter, twisted... feels like the world is out to get him."

"Reminds me of someone," Dana shot at her husband. "You know him well."

"I'll have none of that, thank you." Jack scolded. "I'm a chipper old fellow and you know it."

"When Lindsay's around." Dana pointed out. "When she isn't, God help us all."

"Oh that's just a ball faced lie." Jack brushed off Dana's accusations.

"Sure is, when you live in denial."

"I don't live in denial."

"And you're not delusional," Dana mused. "Sure thing."

"You're not going to let me win, are you?"

"No, because you know I'm right. I dread to think how you're going to be when she leaves again."

"I'm not thinking about it," Jack admitted. "She's my little ray of sunshine. I just love seeing her so happy."

"Danny's good for her, isn't he?" Dana smiled warmly as she continued watering her plants. "He keeps her grounded."

"I think she does a good job of keeping him grounded actually." Jack smiled. "Remind you of someone?"

"I do not keep you grounded," Dana rolled her eyes. "You've said this for fifty years, and I still fail to believe it. When I first met you, you were the most grounded person ever."

"Why do you think that is?" Jack smirked. "All because of you."

"Yes dear," she smiled, finishing off with the flowers and switching the hose pipe off at the faucet. Automatically, Jack took the hose from her and began winding the pipe up on it's wheel. She then took the opportunity to take on the porch bench, gently swinging it back and forth with her foot, waiting for him to join her.

"First Grandbaby," Dana smiled. "It makes me feel old."

"Old?" Jack scoffed. "You don't look a day over twenty-one."

"Always the charmer," Dana cupped his cheek with her hand. "Do you think Lindsay's ready for it?"

"I think she was born ready," Jack smiled proudly as he held his hand over his wife's and ran his thumb over her skin affectionately. "She's got a natural maternal instinct; I think she's just a little scared."

"Why?"

Jack shrugged for a moment. "Well, think about it, she and Danny haven't had it easy. If that were you and I, I think you would have been a little scared too. I think she's ready in her heart, just in her head, she's going through the what if's still."

"Really?" Dana asked with an arched brow.

"You look surprised." Jack observed.

"I am," She admitted. "I thought you liked Danny."

"When did I say I didn't?"

"Well, I just... from what it seems you think that he's going to leave her."

"I don't think that at all," Jack shook his head. "I think that's what she thinks. I can tell in her eyes. She hopes he won't but there's still a niggling part inside of her that reminds her that it's possible."

"Have some more faith in her Jack, she wouldn't have married him if she didn't feel he was her forever after."

"You make it sound so fairytale," Jack sighed. "No wonder she's so romantic and idealistic."

"There's nothing wrong with being idealistic."

"I suppose," Jack shrugged. "I just hope she sees what we both do. That boy won't ever leave her. He loves her way too much, and plus he nearly lost her. He's had a taste of what it could be like and I don't think he fancies going through that again."

"I think you're wrong," Dana shook her head. "I don't think she thinks he'd leave her. She wouldn't do that to herself or the baby if she thought for a second he wasn't in it for the long haul."

"We're talking about Linds here, Dana, she would if she thought that's what he wanted..."

"Jack, our daughter would never ever do something she wasn't comfortable with and you know that."

"Hmm," He shrugged. "We'll agree to disagree though. I just hope she realises that he loves her and she doesn't push him away. We both know how she struggles."

"What happened back then happened back then, Jack, if she could hear you saying this now..."

"She would know that deep down I'm right. She's scared because he said to her that night that she'd got pregnant on purpose."

"She told you about that?" Dana implored, slightly shocked.

"Well, after a little bit of coaxing on my part she did."

"Jack!" Dana scolded her husband.

"She's my baby girl and I had a right to know, okay?"

Staring sternly at her husband, Dana shook her head.

"Don't give me the luck," Jack huffed. "I hate the look."

"Well, my only reply to that is don't do things that warrant the look."

"I just love her, you know? And as much as I hate to admit it, Danny, he's good for her. He's a good kid. Hate the jerk, but he's good for her."

"You don't hate him," Dana smiled, laying her head on Jack's shoulder. "if you hated him you'd have borrowed Gilbert's gun and sat cleaning it at the kitchen table... you haven't, so that tells me you secretly like Danny."

"So I have a soft spot for the kid," Jack admitted. "He's just a kid in love. It's not his fault he fell for Linds."

"I'm sure in eighteen years you and him can sit down and have a conversation about losing your baby girls,"

"I'm sure we will."

* * *

"_When Lindsay's around, when she isn't God help us all." _Lindsay's foot froze in it's position as she heard her name being tossed back and forth between her parents.

That's what got her attention, and for about twenty minutes, she was glued to that same spot. She felt like she was intruding on a private conversation between her parents', but she just couldn't help herself.

Her father wasn't far off with what he was saying, but then again, neither was her mother. They were both right in their own ways. Her father was right in that she was terrified that for some reason one day Danny would turn around and tell her it was over; but that was the irrational side of her. Her mother brought a valid point to the table, which she knew was true. She would have never married him if she didn't feel like this was it for them. That their forever started in that Clerk's office. She didn't regret marrying Danny. Not for a second.

But sometimes, the irrational voice in her head sometimes ran away with her imagination... until her mother's voice would come back to her and remind her that Danny wasn't going anywhere... he was there to stay.

Turning on her heel (completely forgetting about the reasoning behind the trek downstairs) she made her way back upstairs and nudged open the bedroom door.

She smiled at Danny and settled on the bed, which gained her very little reaction. Upon closer inspection, she could see the remnants of guilt and upset on his face.

"Babe, you look upset. What's the matter?"

"Nothin'," he shrugged her off as he threw his phone in anger at the bedside table.

"It doesn't look like nothing," she nudged, offering him a cracker that sat on her bedside table. "What's the matter?"

He took it automatically and offered her a smile but the creases on his face were still evident.

"Is something wrong?" she pressed softly. "Who was on the phone?"

"No-one."

"I can run a record check," she smiled, teasing him as an attempt to coax him out of his mood. "Come on honey, what's wrong?"

"I just feel like a dick. It was Flack, stood outside our apartment wantin' to cheer me up because he thought I was wallowin' in my own self pity while you were out of town. I forgot to tell him I was leavin' and then while I've been here, I haven't thought about him twice. It's like I've just totally dumped him."

"Aww, baby," she sighed. "you're really upset about it aren't you?"

"I feel guilty," he sighed sadly. "I really do. I've just... he's always made time for me, even now he's with Angell, and I just wrote him off the second we got pregnant."

"We?" she said softly, a smile stretching on her face.

"Well, it was a group effort babe," he reminded her. "You didn't do it by yourself, did you?"

"No," she shrugged, "I just... never mind," she brushed it off. "Well, maybe when we get back you can-"

"That's just the thing Linds, there's not gonna be any time, is there? We've got a baby on the way, we've just got married.. the last thing we need is me having time off with Flack. Things are gonna be tough and-"

"Danny, he's your best friend, there's always time for Don Flack in our lives and you know that. I don't mind picking up the slack for a few hours while you go and spend some time with him baby. You get time off too, you know."

"Yeah, but I just feel like I have to be there with you two."

"Why?" she implored. "We're not going anywhere."

"Yeah... but..."

"There isn't a but," she giggled. "When we get back, just arrange some stuff to do together... reconnect." She bit her lip, desperately trying to keep the giggles from escaping her.

"What's so funny?" He scowled at her, sensing her giggles.

"The bromance is in full force today," she said gently, realising she'd grated on a nerve when she'd giggled. "That's all... You two, you're going through a little rocky patch in your relationship. It's cute, that's all."

"It isn't cute Montana." He huffed.

"It is Danny, you want to spend time with the both of us separately doing things you like to do with the both of us, but just don't have the time. That just shows how special you are. You're a great guy. You know that, don't you?"

"I''m not that special or great," he growled. "I want to, but don't find the time to do any of it."

"That's because you're so focused on me and the baby. I promise you, you have my full permission to go wild with Flack when we get back to New York. I'm not going to hold it against you, okay? I promise."

He warranted a glance in her direction. "I just... I don't want you thinking I'm jerking off my responsibilities and the promises I made to you."

"Why would I think that?" She asked him, cupping his cheek with her hand. "Danny, just because we're married doesn't mean you have to cut everyone out. I know you wouldn't expect me to do that and I hope that you don't think that I would expect that either."

"Well no, it's not that... I just, I know that we've not got long left and I fucked up a huge part of your pregnancy and I'm trying to make it up to you now."

She cocked her head to one side and stared pointedly at him. "Seriously?"

He nodded.

"But why?"

"Because," he shrugged. "It's just one of those things, k? I know where my priorities lay and I want to support you in the way I've promised you and in the way you deserve."

"Danny," she blinked at him. "This isn't even an issue. I'm totally confused as to where this has come from, aside from Flack texting, you've been fine."

"I'm just... I dunno." He shrugged. "I guess I'm just feeling sorry for myself. I love you and Flack's my buddy and there's just not enough time for me to spend time with the both of you like I want to, and I feel like shit, knowing he was stood there and I completely just spaced out on him."

Pulling him into a hug, she pressed a kiss to his temple. "Danny, you've got to remember it's me you're coming home to at the end of every day. If you want to spend all your days with Flack, catching up and doing your usual guy stuff, then that's fine with me. All I ask is you save a little bit of time at the end of the day where you just give me a cuddle and tell me you love me. That's all I need, k?"

He warranted a glance at her before pressing a kiss to the tip of her nose. "You're something else, do you know that?"

She shook her head. "Sometimes you just need to hear things that help you to put things back into check for you."

"Huh?" he laughed. "Come again?"

"Never mind," she shook her head.

She wasn't sure of where the new found confidence had come from; but she figured it'd come from a place that her father had just cracked open a little. When she'd seen the look on Danny's face, any feelings that she had was pushed to one side, as she realised that he needed a boost.

And, if her father had faith in her relationship with Danny then she knew that she had nothing to worry about. She needed to find herself and just locate the security in their marriage that she knew was there somewhere. Everything had been so quick; so much so, she'd never really been able to find her feet. But as she traced her fingertips over Danny's arm, and he trailed his fingers down her back, she realised that something had clicked inside her over the past few minutes.

Danny wasn't going anywhere. And she wasn't going anywhere either.

She just needed the unintentional nudges from her Mom and Dad to make her realise all that she had.

And all that she had to look forward to.

* * *

**Thanks for checking in with another chapter. I really hope you all liked it. I'm not sure whether people aren't feeling the story anymore - but I hope that isn't the case! I have lots of ideas for it, I promise! **

**Until next time! :)**


	67. Sparks Fly

**A/N: Hi guys. It's been a long, long while it seems! I've been playing teacher for the past two weeks, and my life has been consumed with planning and lesson evaluations and marking and all that really fun stuff that teachers get to do. I've had a half day of planning today and Fred was practically screaming and kicking things because he wanted to write something and I haven't let him for weeks and weeks it feels... so this is what we've come up with this evening. It's really random, but it's an idea I've played with for a while now. Without giving too much away, I think when I wrote the chapter this is surrounded around, I hadn't finished telling the story, hence the add-on now. I hope it's okay and you guys like it. **

**Huge thank you to you lovely people who reviewed last chapter. You guys really make my day, and I really appreciate everything you say to me 3 - so, huge special thanks to:** Lindsay1234, countrygirl103, afrozenheart412, XMrsLindsayMesserwannabeX, 18lzytwner, rhymenocerous and brendanakai.

**Hope there's still some folk out there enjoying this one!**

**And without further adieu, here's the next chapter. **

* * *

Partially set during 3x23 - Sleight out of Hand

* * *

**Sparks Fly – Taylor Swift**

_You touch me once and it's really something, you find I'm even better than you imagined I would be. I'm on my guard for the rest of the world, but with you I know it's no good._

* * *

"You're taking up too much room!"

"Oh, and this is coming from you? If you would move your ass, I could fit right beside you."

"In what lifetime Lindsay?"

Exasperated, Lindsay Messer sighed. "Look, we should both fit quite nice on this couch, okay? We usually fit on ours back home."

"Yeah but-"

She sat up slightly and held his eye contact. "I dare you," she warned him. "Go on, comment on how big I am; see where you end up... you'll have a lot more space; I'll tell you that for nothing."

Assessing the look on her face, Danny rethought what he was going to say slightly. "See the thing is with that babe, is that we've perfected the art of lying on our couch. This... this, we're not used to. Our couch is all worn and loved and it has Danny and Lindsay spaces that we know work. This is all new and just meh."

"Nice save," she praised, settling back down in her awkward position, half of her body on top of Danny, the other half on the couch. "I'm so uncomfortable."

"No-one said you had to lay right _there_," he reminded her. "Don't feel like you can't move your pretty self to another place in the living room."

"But you promised we'd snuggle."

"On a couch this size?"

"We've snuggled in smaller places."

"Like where?" He implored. "Never have we snuggled on something smaller than this." He shook his head, scanning their current snuggling space.

"We have," she smirked. "Don't you remember?"

"Does this face say I remember?" he smirked. "Give me a hint babe."

Sighing, she shifted in her position slightly, so that her protruding baby bump was the only barrier between them. She tilted her neck towards him so that her nose pressed against his, her breath tickling his lips. "Remember now?"

"Nope." He muttered almost inaudibly.

"We had a lot less clothes on," She smirked.

"Oh," he smirked before shaking his head. "Still nothing. We've had a lot less clothing on a countless amount of times, babe. I need more than that."

"Hmm," she thought carefully, "Alright, another clue... we were in this state."

"Montana?" he implored. "When- ohhh." He smirked at his wife. "Oh you're naughty, reminding me of _that._"

She winked at him.

"But babe, to be fair, we were on a bed."

"Regardless," she smirked. "Bed or no bed, it was still a smaller space than this."

"Babe, technically it was a double bed... we just... well."

* * *

_Feeling herself slowly stir from her slumber, Lindsay's heart raced in her chest. It took her a few seconds before she realised where she was, but once she had, the rush she had was one she'd never felt before. __She ran her fingertips over the skin of her bed-buddy and let out a contented sigh before finally opening her eyes. He was still far off in the land of nod, but she; she had far bigger things to think about then let herself be completely consumed with sleep._

_The day had been a whirlwind for her; to say the very least. __It had started with nerves as she got herself ready in her hotel room, which had progressed into fear as she made her way to the courtroom from the parking lot, which had then transformed into terror as she had taken the stand._

_But the second he'd walked into the courtroom and smiled at her; everything changed. _

_Relaying the painful memories to the rest of the courtroom seemed easier with him there. She'd imagined telling him what she had been hiding time and time again, and every time she'd nearly found the courage, she lost it right at the very last second. But as she had sat on the stand, him in the seat she'd been sat in, she found that courage wasn't ever the motivation she needed. All she had needed was to let her guard down; all she needed to do was trust him. With him, putting up a guard was no good; he sent her guard tumbling with the slightest of touches. _

_Everything after that was a little hazy. She knew they'd gone to get coffee and he'd insisted she ate; and for the first time in days, she actually ate. The anxiety in the pit of her stomach was gone; even though she had one more hurdle to cross once they went back into the courtroom. She didn't know whether or not they'd find him guilty. She didn't know whether she'd done enough, and she knew that if she was alone then that thought would be eating away at her. But as she sat and listened to everything Danny insisted on filling her in about, the self-inflicted responsibility and blame she put upon herself, didn't disappear but it faded to the background. _

_They'd made their way back to the courtroom a good half-hour before court was back in session, and that was when her nerves really set in. They'd been in the middle of a perfectly normal conversation (as normal as normal can be when faced with the situation they were in) and before she knew it, she could feel bile rising in her throat. Leaving him stood in the busy corridor; she darted into a nearby disabled toilet and emptied her stomach contents. _

_She didn't realise that she'd been followed until he felt his hand on her back. He pulled her hair into a ponytail and held it in place, whispering words of comfort the entire time, thus showing her that he was there for her in more ways then she had originally thought. _

_Once her nausea had subsided, she leant back; pressing her back against his chest and let out a sigh as he handed her the bottle of water that he'd had with his lunch and pulled a packet of gum from his back pocket and handed her one, and smiled when she took two. __Silently, he then handed her a paper towel to wipe her eyes and then pulled her to her feet. He didn't need to say anything because his actions told her everything._

_He was there for her and he wasn't planning on going anywhere. _

_Inside the courtroom was a distant memory, even now laid in bed just hours later. All the faces she could see blended into one now as she tried to cast her mind back to that pivotal moment in her life. The look of defeat on his face was one that was yes, was engrained on the back of her mind's eye, but the look of pride and relief on Danny's face was cemented in the forefront of her memory. He was proud of her for coming this far and beating what was holding her back; she could see it in his eyes. _

_And for the second that his lips grazed hers, she was proud of herself too. _

_As he tugged her from the courtroom, she felt the sparks fly freely through her body. His hold on her was something she'd never really felt before. It was a hold that told her he had no intentions of losing her or letting her go in the crowds. And in reflection of that moment now, she wondered whether his tight grip had a double meaning for something else. That maybe, just maybe he didn't want to let her slip through his fingertips. _

_She hadn't been sure to begin with. Honestly, a part of her told her it wasn't a good idea... a tiny part of her was even going as far as saying she was making a mistake. But now? She knew it was far from a mistake. Sex with Danny was something she'd tried not to let herself think about too often. In that moment with him, s__he needed to __feel.__She needed to feel him. She needed to feel alive. She needed to feel free from everything she'd felt over the past six months. And he'd given her all of that; and more. She didn't need to just feel, but she'd needed to feel him. She'd needed to know that he was there for her. _

_It'd been so much more than she imagined it could be like. It had been a given that they'd have the raw magnetism attracting them to one another. But what she hadn't expected was the emotional connection she'd have with him. Yes, they'd been through some stuff together, obviously creating some sort of history between them which had come to a head when they'd connected... but the way she felt... it was just obvious that she'd been lying to herself for longer than she thought. _

_Stirring underneath her fingertips, she debating closing her eyes for a split second before shaking the idea off and settling her head on his chest._

* * *

"You were such a creeper," he teased. "Watching me as I slept."

"I wasn't," she huffed at him. "I was just reflecting and your face happened to be in my line of sight."

"Whatever... You were creeping." He informed her. "Admit it."

"You watch me," she reminded him, changing the direction of the conversation slightly.

"That's beyond the point." He smirked. "I'm allowed."

"You know, when you cocooned us under the sheet... it was pretty adorable."

"I just wanted to make you feel safe," he shrugged, tickling her cheek with his nose as he nuzzled his face against her.

* * *

"_Hey," his sleep-laced voice smiled down at her. "Been up a while?"_

"_Not really," she lied, faking a yawn. "I felt you stirring."_

_Nodding, he bit his lip as an attempt to hide smile that tugged at his lips. _

"_What?" she giggled as he laid with a grin on his face. _

"_Nothin'," he smirked. "I just didn't think I'd end up in a bed with you at the end of the day."_

"_That's surprising," she giggled. "You put up quite the convincing argument." _

"_I did?" he scoffed. "I seem to remember me saying no numerous times; trying to be the better person." _

"_But yet, you caved," she winked at him. "Says a lot for your lack of self control, doesn't it?"_

"_When you were as persistent as you was, Miss Monroe? Surely you've got to give me some points for holding out as long as I did."_

"_I'm interpreting that as a slightly different meaning," she informed him. _

_Shaking his head slowly, he laughed as he pressed a kiss to her temple. "Horny, sexy and dirty-minded. All your true colours are comin' out now!" _

"_Whatever," she giggled. "You wanted to just as much as I did." _

"_Perhaps," he said coyly. _

"_Innocence doesn't suit you, cowboy." _

"_Never said it did," he chuckled. "Looks alright on you though... I suppose your innocence makes everything else a surprise."_

"_Everything else?" she inquired with a raised brow. _

"_You were pretty amazing," Danny smirked. "You're gorgeous, beautiful, and damn Linds, that little body of yours? You're a dark horse."_

"_Oh God, you're making me cringe." She blushed, shaking her head as she tried to brush off his compliments and advances. "Stop it." _

"_I'm serious!" he insisted. "You're gorgeous Lindsay." _

"_So says you," she smirked trailing a finger along each and every defined ab. "Those shirts of yours, you'd think they left very little to the imagination with how they cling to you, but apparently that isn't the case."_

"_No?" he smirked. _

"_Definitely not," she smirked, pressing a kiss to his chest. _

_Feeling a flutter in the pit of his stomach, Danny reacted to her affections by wrapping his arms around her a little tighter and pressing a delicate kiss to her temple, letting his lips linger there for a few moments; giving him the chance to inhale her scent and remind himself that he wasn't in the middle of a very, very vivid dream. _

"_I'm really glad you came, you know," she said quietly, draping a hand across his chest and letting her fingertips mindlessly dangle next to his shoulder. "I don't know what I would have done without you."_

"_I'm glad I came," he whispered against her skin. "And I'm glad you wanted me here." _

"_I was so scared," she admitted quietly. "Looking him in the eyes Danny, I just felt like he knew how scared I was and he loved it. I could see it on his face. He really unnerved me." _

_Danny nodded slowly in understanding. "Everyone in that courtroom knew how scared you were," he reminded her. "He's just a monster babe. You did a good job, kiddo and I'm so proud of you. I don't think you let him saw how scared you really were. You did so well." _

_She shook her head. "Not until you got there, I didn't. I was really floundering. At one point I thought I'd blown it, I just started crying and I was a complete mess."_

"_What do you expect Montana, you were practically reliving what happened. If you had been fine, I'd be a little concerned." _

"_I just... I really wanted you there. I don't know why, I just... I felt like I'd feel so much safer if I knew you were there."_

"_If only you knew I had been on my way," he smiled at her. _

"_Do you know what I kept thinking?"_

"_What?"_

"_That I really wanted you to hug me the way you did when you helped me up off the floor after I got made in the Holly's undercover op. I just really wanted a cuddle, I thought I'd be alright after that." _

"_Why?"_

"_Because it made me feel safe... like I wasn't alone." _

"_I make you feel safe?" _

_She nodded bashfully. "Yeah, I guess you do."_

"_Do you feel safe now?" he asked _

"_I feel happy," she smiled. "Content."_

_She had barely finished replying before she felt him tugging the sheet over their heads and pulling her tight to his chest. _

"_Danny? What the hell are you doing?"_

"_What about now?" he asked her, his nose pressing against her's. "Do you feel safe now?"_

_A huge smile stretched across her lips and she nodded slowly._

* * *

"Somebody had to make you feel safe..."

"We all know that somebody was you," she giggled as he tickled her neck with his stubble. "It was only ever you."

"Only because I'd claimed you as mine; no-one else dared to try."

"I'm glad they didn't." She admitted.

"Why?" he smirked. "'fraid you'd miss out on the Messer love?"

"No, I'm just quite fond of you," she admitted. "What you did for me; I'll never forget that."

"You've done a lot of things for me in the past too babe." He pointed out to her. "I was just repaying the long overdue favour."

"Don't be silly," she chided him. "I've done next to nothing for you, whereas you... you've done a fair bit for me."

"You'd be surprised what you've done for me, Linds." He pressed a kiss to her temple. "Honest."

"Whatever," she shrugged him off. "Trying to downplay everything you've done for me is what you're trying to do... I'm onto you."

"Shudup," he huffed in embarrassment as he wiggled in their position. "My arm's going dead," he complained. "Your bony back is crushing it."

"Jerk," she muttered as she heaved herself up long enough for Danny to move his arm from underneath her. She let herself fall back to the cushions of the couch and let out an annoyed sigh. "Ugh."

"What?" he laughed.

"This is even more uncomfortable," she complained. "Danny-"

"What you whinin' at now, Linds?"

Both Danny and Lindsay peered over the couch and smiled at the figured stood in the doorway.

"I ain't whining at anything," she replied matter of factly. "I'm merely stating I'm not comfortable and making Danny's life a misery until he makes me comfy."

"So you're whining." Her father smirked as he took a seat on the two-seat that sat across from them.

"No," she huffed as settled on Danny's chest and glued her eyes to the television, demonstrating to her father that she was unimpressed.

"What have you guys been doing all day?" Jack inquired.

Without moving and barely batting an eyelid, Lindsay shrugged. "Well, first we hit the bank up and stole a few million. Then we went and tossed someone off a bridge, then we came back here and decided to have a few jello shots, and then ever since we've had wild sex right here."

"Nothing much would have been a fine answer, Lindsay."

"What else would we have been doing, Dad?" Lindsay smirked. "By the looks of the food on the coffee table there, and then me still in my pyjamas the extent of our activities aren't going to be conversational worthy really, are they?"

"Being a wise-ass never got you anywhere when you were younger, Lindsay... it's not going to start now either." He scolded his daughter. "Hell knows where you get it from. Is she a smart ass with you?" Jack inquired with Danny, whom had been happily minding his own business, staying out of whatever was going on between his wife and father-in-law.

"A wise-ass with me?" He smirked down at her mess of hair. "Never." He said, voice dripping with sarcasm. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"Standing up for her won't get you anything son," Jack smirked. "Take it from me,"

"Hey!" she protested. "I gave you plenty. You got a college graduate for a daughter, who then moved onto being a forensic detective working for the NYPD... and I'm in the process of giving you your first grandchild. Rein it in, Daddy."

"See how cheeky she is to me?" Jack teased. "You'll have to watch that with the little one; it'll run in her genetics."

"Don't you have better things to be doing?" Lindsay inquired.

"You'll miss me when you leave." Jack reminded her. "You'll regret being mean to your dear old Dad in two days."

"We'll see," she teased.

"What have you two been talkin' about then?" Jack inquired. "Anything interesting?"

Sharing a glance between the two of them, Danny's eyes widened and his inner self screamed for Lindsay to take over and come up with something convincing. It wasn't that what they were talking about was something they wanted to hide; it was just something that Danny didn't really want to share with his father-in-law. It was a moment that he and his wife shared – and he liked the fact that no-one else had in on that moment with them.

"Just when Danny came to Montana for the trial; I was just telling him how much I appreciated him there."

"He was a real knight in shining armour," Jack nodded in agreement. "But you know kid, it does always confuse me; when Dana and I turned up at Lindsay's hotel room, where were you?"

Swallowing, Danny shifted uncomfortably in his seat. "Come again?" he managed as an attempt to gain himself some more time to explain his whereabouts.

"When Lindsay was wrapped up in that sheet taking a nap and her mother and I turned up, where were you?"

Danny took a moment to simply stare at his father-in-law in disbelief. He had to be shitting him, right? Why else would Lindsay be dressed in a sheet... and only in a sheet? Jack Monroe was a clever man; Danny knew that as a fact... so his only alternative was that he was taking great pleasure in watching him squirm in his seat.

"Um, well..."

It was one thing getting her pregnant, but surely it was another thing him readily admitting to his father-in-law that he'd had sex with his daughter in that hotel room, and was laid on the bed... well.

"Well, what?"

"I was-" Danny swallowed as he looked to Lindsay for some assistance, but apparently she too had lost her voice... and from the look in her eyes, she was quite enjoying Danny's torture.

* * *

"_She might be asleep," Dana whispered, holding her hand over Jack's clenched fist as he readied himself for knocking on his daughter's hotel room door. "She's probably exhausted."_

"_I don't care," he informed his wife, shaking her hand off his carefully. "I don't like her being here by herself anyway." _

"_She probably isn't by herself," Dana smiled. "I'm pretty sure it's Danny who we saw."_

"_Danny who?"_

"_Messer," Dana reminded her husband, her tone still barely above a whisper. "Remember?"_

"_No." He huffed. "I don't."_

"_She sends pictures of them together all the time, but then denies the fact that she likes him, remember?"_

"_Nope," Jack deliberately disagreed, finally making contact with the door with his knuckles._

* * *

"_Where are you going?" _

"_Didn't you hear the door?" Lindsay giggled as she tugged the sheet from Danny's naked form, taking a moment to let her eyes absorb him before he shifted. _

"_Babe, what are you doing?"_

_Blushing at the term of endearment, she nodded towards the door. "There's someone knocking Danny." _

"_Leave them. They'll get the hint eventually. If it's important then they'll come back later. Come back to bed Linds," _

_Despite the desire and blush rising through her at his demand, she shook her head. _"_Danny, I can't; it might be important."_

"_Nothing can be as important as you getting your cute little ass back over here." He smiled as she internally debated the decision with herself... but as she turned and wrapped the sheet tightly around her body, his smile fell. "Wait, Linds – no!" _

_Danny shot off the bed, making sure he was out of sight from whomever had disturbed their quiet afternoon together. Huddled on Lindsay's side of the bed, he basked in the warmth that her side of the mattress still had. _

"_Daddy? Mom? What are – what are you doing here?"_

"_What are you doing with no clothes on baby?"_

_Danny's eyes widened as he realised what situation he'd just found himself in. _

"_Fuck," he muttered to himself, desperate to find an article of clothing – be it Lindsay's or his at this moment in time. No way in the God's earth was he going to meet Lindsay's parents in the nude. It just wasn't happening – not even over his dead body... which was probably quite the possibility if Lindsay's father saw him. _

"_Linds; where are your clothes?" _

"_Well, the laundry service hasn't managed to get my pj's back to me yet, and I didn't feel like sleeping in my clothes." _

_Danny swallowed and closed his eyes as he waited for her parent's reaction._

"_If you were at home then you wouldn't have had that problem." Danny heard a man's voice tell her. "Can we come in?"_

"_No!" Danny cried under his breath. "Montana, no!" _

"_I would, but I've got all my stuff all over the place," he saw the door shut slightly so they couldn't see the immaculately tidy hotel room – bar their clothes strewn in random places. _

"_We don't care about that Lindsay; we want to see how you are. We haven't heard from you. We were so worried..."_

"_It's okay, I'm okay."_

"_Well we know that now... we watched the local news... not exactly how we wanted to find out the verdict."_

"_I know but, I just – I didn't want to put you guys through all of that again. And anyway, Danny... he surprised me. Came to support me..."_

"_So that was Danny?" A tinkling voice sounded, almost knowingly. "I thought so. He's quite the looker... is he around?"_

"_He's just out at the minute... clearing his head and stuff. He wanted to give me chance to sleep." _

"_How nice of him." Jack scoffed. "I'm surprised... what with you sleeping in underwear."_

"_Don't be like that," Lindsay sighed. "He's a good guy Dad."_

"_I'm sure he is... comin' all this way for nothin'." _

"_We didn't come to discuss Danny, Lindsay... how are you feeling sweetie?"_

_Danny let out a breath, realising that he might just be okay; but to ensure his safety (and give Lindsay and her parents a bit of privacy... in the hallway), he carefully tip-toed into the en-suite and slipped the lock into place. _

_Taking a seat on the closed toilet, Danny begged for the ground to swallow him whole._

* * *

Deciding that honesty was the best policy, Danny took a deep breath.

"I was uh – in the –uh-"

Seeing that he was struggling, Lindsay took a deep breath. "He was in the bathroom." She finished for her husband.

Both closed their eyes momentarily, waiting for Jack to explode at the antics of the two of them before they were even in a relationship.

"I knew it," Jack smirked finally. "Your mother owes me twenty dollars."

"Come again?" Both Danny and Lindsay echoed each other, disbelief on their faces.

"You don't sleep in your underwear Lindsay. You never have. Never will. You get too cold and I'm willing to bet that had that been the truth, you would have found _something_ to sleep in. And as for you," Jack turned his attention to Danny. "You might not have seen me, but I saw the bathroom door shutting."

Lindsay turned to face Danny, a smile tugging at her lips, "And there we were thinking we were so coy and discrete about it."

"You were about as discrete as an elephant in a China shop, Lindsay." Jack chuckled. "But to be honest, I have to commend the both of you for not coming up with a lie, now at least, takes guts to tell your old man the truth."

Danny nodded slowly, the feeling he'd had in the bathroom slowly rising through him once again – wishing for the ground to just swallow him whole. But it could have been a lot worse – Jack could have beaten his ass for it... but he hadn't. He'd laughed about it.

"If it's any conciliation," Danny began, "at least you know now I was serious about her."

"Can't take that away from you can I?" Jack smiled. "You dropped everything for her, made things better for her... looked after her. Can't ask for much more than that for my little girl can I?"

"I think I'd be happy with that for our little girl," Danny nodded as he laid his hand over Lindsay's stomach. "What you think babe? You be alright with that for Lucy?"

"I think I'd be fine with that for Lydia," she nodded with a smile.

"I better go help your Mother with dinner," Jack told Lindsay, and then moved his gaze to Danny. "I'll let you get back to robbing banks and doing jello shots."

Chuckling, Danny settled comfortably on the couch, pulling Lindsay into his side.

And as she laid her head on his chest, she let out a sigh. The sparks she felt for him back in their early days were still going strong. And as long as those sparks flew between them, she was happy.

* * *

**There we go, just something Fred wouldn't let go of, so I figured we'd get it down before he sends them back to New York in a few chapters... where the fun and games begin! hehe.**

**Thanks for reading, hope you enjoyed it - if you did, let me know what you thought! I'd really appreciate it! :)**


	68. Hero

**A/N: Hi guys. Well, it's definitely been a while. Lots of reasons why I've not been around, but I won't bore you with that ;) I've wanted to come up with something to post for days, but the chapter I had thought would be next, I just wasn't happy with; so when I found this half finished, I was like 'boom!' and it kind of just grew from there, so I hope you all like it. I'm a little nervous posting as it's been so long, and the last one-shot I messed up big style it seems; (that'll teach me to have a differing opinion!) So I guess I'm just saying take it easy on me... pretty, pretty please? *bats eyelashes***

**Huge thank you to everyone who reviewed the last chapter; it seems like a million years ago now but you guys really make my day brighter with the lovely things you say: **LoveIsInTheAir4DL, Megan, afrozenheart412, 18lzytwner, countrygirl103, brendanakai, LinMo, messermonroeforever125, Aveo amacus and alexindigo.

* * *

**Hero – Enrique **

_I can be your hero, baby. I can kiss away the pain._

* * *

_For my lovely friend: She can deal with stress and carry heavy burdens. She smiles when she feels like screaming and sings when she feels like crying. She cries when she's happy and laughs when she's afraid. Her love is unconditional. And there's only one thing wrong with her – she forgets all that she's worth... I just got that from my brother's wife and it made me think of you and how amazing you are. You better not be getting too comfortable there in Montana, Mrs. Messer! New York misses you and so do I, so come home soon. _

"What are you all smiley about?"

"Nothin'," Lindsay smiled as she slipped her phone into her pocket. "Just a text from my bit on the side; misses me and wants me home."

Danny nodded nonchalantly. "How's Jess doing?"

Gasping playfully and dramatically, Lindsay held a hand to her chest. "However did you know, Danny?"

"I got my ways," he smirked as he brushed some leaves away from the area to which they were about to analyse. "Gosh, look at this, the second in what – two weeks? Something ain't right."

Sighing, Lindsay gazed down at the DOA on her parent's property. "It breaks my heart."

"Well, let's get to the bottom of it." Danny smiled reassuringly. "Between the two of us, we've gotta get some leads."

Lindsay laid her hand on Danny's shoulder and carefully lowered herself to the ground as best she good so that she could get a better look at their victim. "Looks like he's got a puncture wound."

Danny cast his eyes in the direction to where Lindsay was pointing and nodded in agreement. "Looks like teeth almost,"

"Revenge killing? Crime of passion?"

"Maybe," he nodded seriously.

Biting her lip, Lindsay let out a snigger.

"What's funny?"

"You. Me... us! We're crazy!"

"Speak for yourself maybe," he huffed as he rolled back on his heels. "What makes you say that?"

"Well, look at us – we're creating our own little crime scene."

"So?" Danny shrugged. "If an opportunity arises..."

"We're on vacation." She reminded him. "And this is a beaver. If it was an actual person then I could totally understand us getting stuck in... But a beaver; isn't that taking it a little... far?"

"A victim is a victim Lindsay, we shouldn't discriminate."

"Now I know you're messing with me,"

"Maybe a little," Danny smirked, "But you're just so adorkable."

"Adorkable?" Lindsay blushed. "Are you calling me a dork?"

"An adorable one," he smiled as he dropped a kiss to her temple. "I'm going inside baby, I promised your Ma I'd help her with somethin',"

Lindsay narrowed her eyes. "What might you be helping her with?"

"Just somethin'," he said as stood from his crouching position. "You comin' inside?"

"No, I think I'm going to stick around out here for a while..."

"I reckon it's gonna rain soon, don't be too long, k?"

"There's nothing wrong with a bit of rain, Danny."

"Yeah, but I know you and you'll wander off somewhere. You and those rain walks."

"Shuddup," she huffed at him before turning. She heard him chuckle before placing a kiss to the crown of her head. He turned and she watched as he retreated back to the house. Her eyes soaked the image in of his perfectly taut ass and she could feel the grin stretching across her face.

"Hey!" he called to her, "You mind?"

"No," She wiggled her eyebrows in response before playfully sticking her tongue out. "Do you?"

"Depends," he replied with a wink before disappearing inside.

Turning back to the situation at hand, she observed the scene. It looked undisturbed, which was a positive; hopefully none of the evidence would have been... - she furrowed her brow at the dead beaver. Why was she sat here looking at this again? She'd heard of people taking their work home with them, but she was pretty sure this was a step too far.

Standing slowly and carefully, she placed a hand to her back and cursing herself for willingly sitting on the floor like that. Sometimes she forgot that she was pregnant, and not just pregnant, but _heavily_ pregnant with a Messer baby; meaning that she had to face facts that there were just some things that she couldn't do any more. Laying a hand over her stomach, Lindsay let out a sigh. Her pregnancy had far surpassed her initial expectations. For one, she thought she'd be doing it alone; for Danny to prove her completely wrong. She'd suffered from morning sickness, yes, but she'd been lucky in comparison to some. She'd been able to work for as long as she liked to. Her baby was healthy, she was healthy; things were good... But god, she was sick of being pregnant.

She slowly lowered herself to the porch steps and laid her head against the wooden frame.

It was a waiting game now. She'd passed the initial secretive stages when it was fun, just her and Danny having a little secret between them; quite literally. And then of course, the stage of telling people had been exciting. The preparation stage had filled her with a joy that she didn't even know existed. She'd felt the first initial move from her daughter and her heart had nearly stopped then and there... then there was the time that Danny had finally felt their daughter move and he'd cried. The scans had made her cry... numerous times. She'd stared at her sonogram for hours upon end. She'd spent time with her mother and sister. And now, all she needed to do was the labour part but, quite honestly, that part was what was scaring her the most.

With her daughter safe inside her, Lindsay knew she couldn't screw up, but when she gave birth – that was it, she needed those motherly instincts to kick in straight away. And the more she thought about it, the more she convinced herself that she was incapable. She'd not voiced her fears out loud, but it was something that niggled away at her. What if she did something wrong? What if her and Danny struggled as parents? Would it be too late before they realised? She knew some of her fears were irrational, but she couldn't help it. She'd been the youngest; so she'd never really spent a prolonged period of time around a baby. And she knew that some people were just naturally child-orientated... what if she wasn't? She wouldn't be able to just _make_ herself child friendly, would she?

"You're being ridiculous," she chastised herself out loud. "Get a grip."

Her eyes filtered down to the steps and she smiled at the old, worn pattern of the wooden steps. She'd spent a fair few hours in her lifetime sat on these set of stairs, contemplating. Trying to sort things out. Compartmentalise the hard times. She looked to the side, and noted a small shard of glass. Furrowing her brow, she brushed it off the step, conscious of the fact that her mother usually stepped outside without shoes on for one reason or another. She then let out a hearty yawn and itched her arm before settling back against the frame of the decking. It was a lovely day; the sun was out and shining, but there was still that cool Spring breeze that made the afternoon a perfect one to just think.

Her eyes drifted down to her arm, and instantly her eyes widened.

Why was there blood all over her arm? She examined it closer but couldn't see a cut. Running her finger over the area, she furrowed her brow in confusion. Where was...? Her eyes widened as she realised the pain in her finger.

Looking closely at the cut she'd somehow gained on her finger, she bit her lip as she pressed it softly with her other fingertips. Her eyes cast down to the step and searched for that little shard of glass she'd brushed to one side... which wasn't there any more.

"Ow, ow, ow," she whimpered, "Shit," she squeezed her eyes shut as she tried to remove the glass from her fingertip. "Ow, ow, fuck!"

Within seconds, she heard the screen door creak open, "Linds?"

"Ow, ow, ow!"

"Linds, you okay?" he pressed, concern for her evident in his voice.

"No," she whimpered. Turning slowly, she held her hand out. "I'm bleeding."

"I see that," he sighed a sigh of relief when he realised it was something he'd be able to fix. His heart had shot into his stomach when he'd heard her as he was passing by the front door. His mentality as of late was he couldn't be too careful when it came to her, and how close she was to giving birth. Any sign of her in pain and he instantly went into panic mode. "What happened babe?"

"I think I got glass in it," she sniffled, trying not to cry but beginning to fail miserably. "And it _really_ hurts."

"Let me take a look here," he said softly, taking a seat next to her on the steps. "What were you doin' playin' with glass, babe?" he asked, as he took her smaller hand in his.

"I wasn't playing with it," she sniffled as she buried her head into the crook of his shoulder. "I was trying to move it from the step."

"But why babe? It wasn't botherin' you. It can't hurt you if you don't touch it."

"But I didn't want it on the step."

"I see, and having it slice your skin is a far better place for it..." he mused as he slowly edged it out of where it had buried itself in the cut.

"Your sarcasm right now is highly unappreciated."

"I'm just messin'," he teased as he managed to remove the small piece of glass. "Look, see, there we go," he said as he rolled it in between his fingers before placing it next to him. He then ran his finger over her's and pushed lightly. "Does that hurt anymore than it should?"

"What do you mean?"

"When I push, does it hurt?"

"Not anymore than it should," she shrugged.

Danny rolled his eyes as he wiped the blood away from her finger and brushed his hands on his jeans.

"Danny!" she scolded. "Not on your jeans, blood's a bitch to get out..."

"Oh come on Linds, a swipe of blood is nothing. It's going to be a lot worse once the baby gets here. Snot, tears, food... all sorts are going to grace these poor jeans."

"So use a tissue." Lindsay suggested.

"When her nose is running and she's crying, do you really think we're gonna have time to find a Kleenex babe?"

"Um..."

"Exactly," he smirked as he pressed a kiss to his wife's temple. "Now, you done out here? I leave you for ten minutes and you end up finding the only piece of glass in about a thousand acres of land and cut yourself on it."

"I didn't think it'd cut me," she sniffled as she laid her head on his shoulder and snuggled into his side. "It really hurts,"

"Do you want a band-aid for it then, you big baby?"

She nodded in a childlike manner. "Can you kiss it better too?"

Looking down to his wife, whom was cradling her still bleeding finger in her hand, he felt his love for her wash over him. Her childlike behaviour made him chuckle, but it also made it hit home that soon he'd be doing this for real. He'd be kissing boo-boos better, applying magic band-aids and wiping tears for his little girl.

"Let me see it," he said, carefully cupping her hand and bringing the little cut to his lips. "Mwah," he exaggerated the kiss. "Better?"

She shook her head. "No."

"Okay... How about a kiss to the cheek?"

She finally raised her head and offered her cheek to him, to which he kissed instantly.

"Better?"

She shook her head silently, a sullen look fixed on her face.

"Okay, hmm." He wondered. Silently, he hooked his index finger underneath her chin and brought her lips to his. He kissed her softly, their lips struggling to separate after the delicate kiss. "How's that?"

She smiled, so much so, little dimples formed in her cheeks. "A little better."

"Only a little better?"

She nodded. "Only a little bit."

"Hmm, well we better try that again then."

Although she knew that she didn't need an excuse to kiss her husband, nor was a kiss going to relieve her of any pain, she couldn't help but insist he made her feel better with a kiss. She lost herself momentarily as she felt his fingers slide through her locks and tangle themselves in and amongst her hair.

"How's that?" He whispered against her lips when he broke away moments later.

She shook her head. "Nope. It still hurts."

Detangling his fingers from her hair, he looked down to the small collection of blood on his wife's finger. He sighed as he wiped away the blood with the pad of his thumb and then pressed a series of light kisses to the area.

"What would I do without you?" she mused, watching him as he affectionately kissed her pain away.

"Well, for starts you'd probably sit here crying about your finger bleeding. You're such a girl Montana; you deal with blood on a daily basis, yet you're sat here sobbing about a little cut; that was self inflicted I may add."

"Yeah, but I don't worth with my blood," she added. "And for the record, I'm a girl, and I'm pregnant, so I have an excuse to be this irrationally emotional."

"Touche," Danny smirked. "You told me, huh?"

"Well, you're being mean; you know how emotional and upset I get these days."

"Well babe, to be honest, I gotta admit I like you being this emotional."

"What?" she asked, "Why?"

"Well," he smirked as he wrapped his arm around her and pulled her into his side, "I can swoop in, save the day and be your hero."

"Now who's the girl?" She mused, nudging him lightly with her elbow.

"And there was me just about to go and get you a band-aid. You can try again if you think I'm gonna be nice and-"

"-Kiss me," she instructed, cutting him off and sealing her lips to his with little warning.

Succumbing to her puckered lips, Danny sighed lightly against her lips; sending a chill down her spine.

"You're my hero," she whispered softly against his chest. "You know that right?"

"For getting some glass out of a cut? That's hardly a hero qualifying activity, babe."

"No," She shook her head. "Not just that... just, for everything you do. You're my hero."

"Well you know what," he whispered against her temple. "You're mine too... how's about that band-aid, anyway?"

"Leave it for a minute," she said, laying her head against his chest as she snuggled into his side. "I think I'll be okay for now."

"So what are we doing here then in the meantime?" he pressed, obviously eager to go back inside. "Chillin'?"

"Appreciating," she corrected. "Just... just for a few minutes. Let me appreciate what I've got in you."

"Where's this come from, surely not a shard of glass..."

"No..." She shook her head. "Just let me; two minutes. That's all."

She let out a contented sigh as Danny accepted defeat and adjusted his seating position on the porch. All of her worries from earlier were still in the back of her mind, and would probably be there for a good few years. But, with the care that Danny had just taken with her, she knew for a fact that with him they'd be more than capable to raise their daughter together... after all, Danny was her hero, and if ever she did struggle with something, he'd be sure to swoop in and save the day.

* * *

**Thanks for reading; I really hope you enjoyed this one! :)**


	69. Someone Wake Me Up

**A/N A little bit of confession time... Life has been so ridiculously busy lately so I haven't been the best updater. I hit a huge roadblock with this story. I was stuck with them in Montana with no ideas of how to entertain our lovely couple while they were there. I actually had a chapter where Lindsay said goodbye to her parents but it was very disjointed and it didn't feel right at all. But I really wanted to use it, so Fred and I just rammed heads over it for a long time - a LONGGGG time... I read over it last night and decided that it really wasn't a chapter I wanted to post... so we made a compromise that for once, I got what I wanted – hence the update ;)**

**Another confession... I'm quite the people-watcher and on one of my many travels, I observed the premise for this chapter. So, when I was racking my brains for a possible way to kickstart this chapter, I was like 'oooooooooooh' and I couldn't help but recreate and (slightly) bend the scene that played out in front of me. I won't explain exactly what happened in the A/N... but yeah. If any of you know me, you know how I get slightly... fangirlish at Airport scenes- to say but the very least.**

** I hope I haven't left this story too long and you're still up for reading one of the pieces of DL that fit together into the big picture :P **

**Huge thank you to those of you who checked in with last chapter. I know it seems so long ago now, but I hope you enjoyed it nonetheless. Special mentions to: **countrygirl103, rhymenocerous, afrozenheart412, brendanakai, montanascreed, alexindigo, 18lzytwner, saderia, messermonroeforever125, mckenzie and JJ** :) **

* * *

**Someone Wake Me Up – Joe McElderry**

_You were in the wrong place at the right time_

* * *

Saying goodbye to her mother had been hard. Lindsay had cried her little heart out as her mother mopped up her tears with a damp Kleenex, and just as her tears had dried, Haley had burst through the kitchen door, completely out of breath and desperate to make sure she saw Lindsay before they left for the airport. Danny had felt completely helpless as he watched Lindsay sob, gripping to Haley as if she would never see her again. He'd looked to John with a pleading look in his eyes; begging for some form of wisdom in this type of moment. John had simply folded his arms over his chest in response and steeled his jaw; failing to give Danny anything else. So, he chose to stand in the sidelines with Lindsay's father, until the storm passed. If Lindsay's father was helpless in the moment – he didn't stand a damn chance to make things better.

Between the two strong men, it had taken a lot of gentle probing to pry their girls away from one another.

Tears had subsided in the car – for the most part at least. Danny made a point of holding Lindsay's hand over the console of their rental as he drove, while she stared out of the window, soaking in as much of Montana as she could before they left for what could be a very long time.

They'd dropped their rental off with very little issues, managed to get into the terminal with ease. They navigated their way to their ticket desk... which was when the shit had hit the fan.

"What do you mean?" Danny spat.

"Well sir, your check in time is not for another five hours," the woman staring back at him replied almost automatically. "Mrs. Messer is able to check in now, but I'm afraid you have to wait."

"I'm sorry," Lindsay said, placing a hand down on the counter. "What do you mean he can't check in for another five hours... my flight leaves in three."

"Well, you're... you're not on the same flight."

Lindsay simply choked back a sob before stepping away from the desk completely without saying another word.

"Look, I get that your hands are tied here, but is there any way you can move some things around..." Danny began. "This is... this is really important. She's fine to fly, but I'd rather be there you know?"

"Sir, if she's fine to fly then there's really no need to-"

Danny ran his fingers through his styled hair. "Alright, can I be put on standby for the flight?"

Pursing her lips together, the woman cast her eyes down to her computer screen and began typing furiously. Danny peered down to the keyboard to see if she was actually forming sentences, or whether she was just pressing keys for the hell of it.

"Alright, we have one person already on standby, but if that's what you wish. Check in hasn't closed yet, so we're not completely sure of the amount of passengers on the one-thirty flight, so there is a chance that there will be a seat; whether this seat is next to your wife is a different story."

"I know this is a pain, but if it so happens that a seat does open up, can I have one of the air-stewards to move some things around?"

"Technically, I can't say yes, however, I'm sure provisions can be made if the people around your wife are willing to move seats."

Danny nodded as he turned and looked at a pacing Lindsay and offered her a reassuring smile.

"Between you and I," he began, "What are the chances of me getting on the flight with her?"

"Honestly? Slim to almost nothing," she admitted. "But you never know."

Danny nodded as he waved Lindsay back over to the check-in desk. "I'll take those odds."

* * *

"Is this seat taken?"

"Nope, go ahead." Danny said, shaking his head, turning his attention back to his book.

"Who was that you were with?"

"My wife." Danny shifted in his seat, feeling a little out of his comfort zone.

"Why didn't you get on the flight with her? It looks like she could really do with you there..."

"I didn't have a seat," Danny sighed as he slid his ticket into his book, ensuring he kept his place, giving him the chance to turn his attention to his new companion. "I'm on standby... I gotta wait another..." Danny glanced at his watch and let out a hefty sigh. "Six hours."

"Ah." The old man nodded. "Where you headed?"

"New York."

"Home?"

"Yes sir." Danny nodded.

"How far along is she?"

Danny turned and realised that he was probably going to have his ear gnawed off. "Far enough to get me panicked at the prospect of my imminent fatherhood," Danny admitted. "We're expecting a little girl."

"A little girl," his new 'friend' smiled. "Is she your first?"

"Yes sir," Danny nodded. "We're really excited."

"I bet, I'm also guessing you're a little bit terrified?"

"Oh yeah," Danny laughed. "A whole lotta that."

The old man glanced down to the ticket in his hand before holding it out in front of him an placing it in Danny's hand. "Here, you know what? Trade me."

"Sorry what?" Danny blinked as he adjusted to the ticket that had been thrust in his hand. And just as he'd somewhat managed to make sense of the bizarre situation, he watched helpless as his ticket was slipped out of his book that he'd placed it in just minutes previous. "Whoa, where you goin' with that?"

"Trade me." The old man smiled. "I'm headed to JFK... can't get closer to New York than that."

"But sir..."

"William," He held his hand out to shake Danny's. "And you're taking it."

"Sir, I can't do that."

"Son, listen to me. I've got a granddaughter that's nearing your wife's age, alright? And I know that if my girl was in the position that your wife is in right now, travelling by herself and heavily pregnant, then I would want someone to offer their seat to her husband who wants to be there for her, no?"

Danny nodded. "But sir..."

"Look, I've got nothing I've got to rush home for. You do."

"But sir..."

"What time does her flight get into New York?"

"Six-fifty."

"This'll get you in at a ten to six. Perfect timing to meet her in arrivals. Surprise her."

Danny glanced down at the ticket. "I..."

"You're welcome." William laid his hand over Danny's that still housed the e-ticket.

"Why?" Danny questioned quietly. "I don't... I mean I appreciate it, sir. I really appreciate it... but I just... it's a complete act of kindness to a random stranger... and who knows when you'll get home."

"See though... Daniel," William said as he glanced to the name on Danny's ticket.

"Call me Danny," Danny smiled as he corrected the kind stranger.

"Well Danny, sometimes you've just got to trust in people, and trust that they're good. I try to do a good deed everyday... and this one will set me for the week, so if I decide to be particularly grouchy with my wife tomorrow, it's not the end of the world. I've already spoken to the lovely stewardesses up there at the desk and they're in the process of editing the paperwork... apparently my charm hasn't left me in my retirement years."

"Sir, as kind as this is... I'm not sure I-"

"You don't want to get there and surprise her?"

Danny opened his mouth to protest, but after visualising the look Lindsay would have on her face when she saw him there, he promptly shut it.

"I think your quota for good deeds will be covered till at least the end of the month," Danny smiled, offering his hand for William to shake. "Thank you, you have no idea how much I appreciate this."

"They're boarding in ten minutes." William practically shook off Danny's gratitude. "Have you any baggage?"

"No, just carry on."

"Fantastic." William smiled. "Your layover in Detroit is about an hour and ten minutes. Just enough to get you from one gate to another with maybe a chance to grab something to eat. But make sure you're on top of it... you won't be able to get away with requiring the assistance... so no easy rides across the terminal."

Letting all the information set in, Danny nodded.

"Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go and find myself a nice bar to have a cheeky beer in," William smiled. "One could say I perhaps had a vested interest in having you go before me, I get a few more hours of freedom before I get back to the old ball and chain."

Danny observed the man in front of him for a moment before smirking and shaking his head. "You don't mean that."

William chuckled and shook his head, "Just don't tell her that."

And with that, he was gone; leaving Danny absolutely dumbstruck while listening for his new seat number and imagining the look on his wife's face when she saw him stood there.

And hell, maybe he'd go wild and find the time to grab a bunch of flowers.

* * *

"Did you manage to catch a flight babe?" Lindsay's tired voice travelled down the phone-line.

"No..." Danny sighed as sadly as he could physically manage when in reality he was practically bursting with excitement. "There's nothing until tomorrow so I called your Dad and had him come pick me up. I'm booked on the first flight tomorrow. Your Mom called Stella and asked her to make sure someone's there to get you when you land. I'm so sorry I'm not going to be there baby. When I flew out I just didn't think it through. I had no idea that we would be on different flights on the way back."

"It's okay." She sighed. "It's no big... I got here by myself. It just would have been nice for you to have been here with me... or at least been in New York to get me."

"I know, babe."

"I better go," She sighed down the line. "I have to somehow find my way across the terminal and kill this layover I've got."

"Go get something to eat, sweetie. Get a massage from one of those places."

"I just might," she giggled. "I think I have your debit card still."

"Figured," Danny rolled his eyes. "When I tried-" Danny paused as he caught himself before he revealed that he'd wanted to buy lunch at the food court, but had failed when he realised Lindsay had his debit card.

"When you tried to what?" she prompted.

"When I tried to give your Dad some gas money, I couldn't because I didn't have it in my wallet. Thank God you've got it. Keep it safe for me, babe?"

"I will," she promised. "And while we're on the topic, don't let my Daddy brainwash you."

"I won't... he says hi by the way."

"Tell them I love 'em. And tell my Mom thank you... you better behave."

"I will...on all three accounts."

"Good. I love you."

"I love you too."

"See you... tomorrow night I guess." She sighed sadly.

"Yep, tomorrow night," he agreed, fighting the excitement in his voice. He hung up promptly and sighed in relief as the PA system chose after he hung up to make an announcement. He was currently waiting for his next flight to begin boarding. He'd already called Stella and ask her to play along just in case Lindsay called her to double check arrangements, or if he knew Lindsay like he thought he did, insist that no one needed to pick her up and she'd just grab a cab.

Not on his watch she wouldn't...

He sat back in his seat and stretched his legs before pulling his wallet from his pocket. He rifled through the money he had and decided that he could maybe afford a pretzel – or at least something similar. He pushed up off his seat and headed off in the direction of the food court; his stomach leading the way.

* * *

She disconnected the call with her husband and let out a little frustrated groan.

She didn't want to snap at Danny because she knew that her flight being full wasn't his fault – but he could be a pain in the ass sometimes. She loved his surprise, _she had_. It had been romantic and thoughtful and a memory she would cherish forever... but why hadn't he thought about them coming home together? He'd booked it for the same day... so why hadn't he booked himself on the same flight – last minute or not! She knew it was completely irrational, but with the precious cargo she was carrying, she figured she could afford to be a little irrational.

She argued with herself, deciding that maybe she could call Stella and insist that she didn't have to fetch her from the airport, because really – what was the need? It was just as easy to get a cab from the airport – if Danny was there they would have been getting a cab anyway, so why deviate from the plan with or without Danny?

She sighed. Who was she kidding? Was she seriously thinking about getting a cab after hours upon hours of travelling across the country while being as pregnant as she was... alone at that. She had to be insane.

She cast her eyes up, looking for one of the massage places Danny had suggested on the phone. Surely she deserved a bit of tension relief after the day, right?

* * *

Butterflies weren't a common occurrence in Danny Messer's life, yet for some reason – his stomach was full of them at this moment in time. Her flight had officially landed about twenty minutes ago. They'd been delayed a good hour in leaving her connecting airport due to some build up on the runway when it came for her flight to take off. So that hour he'd been given provided him with the opportunity to grab a bunch of flowers, a drink for her and her favourite snack of the week. He'd searched the stores in the Arrivals terminal for the perfect bunch of flowers, but he'd fallen short. They weren't her favourite mix of Gerber Daisies, but what he'd managed to find were impressive... and they would do quite nicely.

He'd been rocking on his feet, back and forth for a good fifteen minutes, knowing that she could be through the doors that stood in front of him any second. And he just couldn't get her face out of his mind. She was going to be so surprised.

The double doors whooshed open revealing an excitable cheerleading squad, holding a trophy high in the air, clearly still celebrating a victory. Then, behind the squealing girls, he spied an exhausted coach – failing to control his victorious girls.

After they passed, Danny watched an elderly couple slowly make their way through the doors, her arm wrapped tightly around her husband's as he led her towards their waiting grandchildren. Danny couldn't help but smile. With any luck, that would be him and Lindsay in fifty years.

More passengers filtered out, some searching for loved ones, others clearly on a mission for the exit. Danny's eyes found themselves captivated on a young girl, clearly searching for someone. He watched her features, the smile she had been wearing, slowly fading as she considered the thought that maybe the person she'd been relying on wasn't there? Danny wasn't an expert, but he could see the disappointment on her face.

"Nikki!" A male voice boomed through the vicinity.

Instantly, the girl was on her tip-toes, searching the crowd desperately.

"Peanut! I'm over here, Kiddo."

"DADDY!" She squealed a few seconds later, dropping her bag adorning a college emblem and sprinting down the tile floor. Somehow, Danny managed to follow her with his eyes and witnessed the teenager launch herself into her father's arms, wrapping her arms around his neck and hooking her legs around her father's waist.

He couldn't help but feel the lump form in the back of his throat, and he even dared to go as far as to admit that he wasn't even ashamed. It was like glancing into his future; him picking up his little girl from the airport after a semester at college. Now realising that he was staring however, he pulled his gaze away from the father and daughter, whom were still wrapped in a tight hug.

He cast his eyes back to the doorway just in time to see Lindsay's flustered face, struggling with her balancing her carry-on bag and walking in a straight line at a normal person pace, as opposed to recent preference of waddling. He bit his lip as he saw her shift the bag further onto her shoulder. He knew that eyes were on him now; just as he'd been watching everyone else.

He was positive that she was going to completely overlook his presence – because quite understandably why would she look for him? He was still in Montana as far as she was concerned. He cleared his throat and took a deep breath.

"Linds!"

Just like the young teenager had, Lindsay instantly looked up and stopped dead in her tracks, the bag on her shoulder finally gaining a reprieve from her fussing. He could tell by the look on her face that she didn't want to call out his name or draw too much attention to herself just in case she'd heard her name in some form of stressful daze and it hadn't actually been real.

"Lindsay Messer!"

He could see her eyes desperately scanning the sea of people now, searching for him frantically. She bit her lip lightly and furrowed her brow. "Danny?"

"Montana! Over here!"

He smiled as her eyes followed his voice, pausing very briefly at the father and daughter whom had finally separated, but were in the process of wiping each other's tears; she smiled at the image quickly before turning her attention back to her own reunion. "Danny?"

"Over here, sweetheart." He called to her. Finally, her eyes found his and she shook her head. She soaked in his appearance, stood there in front of her. "You're a jackass," she said with the biggest smile, dropping her bag from her shoulder completely.

"Pfft, and there was me bracing myself for you running and jumping at me." He joked lightly. "What was I thinking?"

"You got me flowers," she observed, still a fair distance away from him.

He nodded proudly.

"I thought you said-"

"I did." He smirked.

"But you're-" she shook her head.

"I'm not." He finished.

"But... how are you here?" she exclaimed, cutting her concerns short as he jogged towards her and pulled her into a tight embrace, resisting the overwhelming urge to pick her up in fear of hurting her or their daughter. "I'm so glad you're a scheming little shit."

"You say the sweetest things," he grinned down at her before pressing a kiss to her forehead. "Tell me more."

"How did you wrangle this? I left before you did."

"Well," he began, "You know when I said I was still in Montana?"

She nodded slowly.

"I might have been lying."

"Well, I gathered as such." She grinned, snuggling against his body, her arms wrapped tightly around him. "But... how..."

"Some sweet old man gave me his ticket... practically shoved me on the flight."

"Why?"

"He said it was his good deed for the day."

"Seriously? But... how? You must have left..."

"About fifty minutes after you did."

"Danny... how on earth did you make this work?"

"Well, when you called, I was sat at my gate in Detroit, praying they didn't make any announcements, which is always why I didn't fight you when you cut our phone-call short. I also hoped you didn't call before you got on the plane and my phone be off."

"I did, but I just thought you had no service."

"That's what I hoped you'd think." He smiled.

"How is this even possible for you to be here?" she implored, still in shock.

"My layover was a hell of a lot shorter than yours, we were a little late so I got in about ten minutes after six. Been stood here ever since." He smiled. "These are for you. I got you a snack too," he added with a blush.

"They're beautiful," she smiled at the array of flowers. "God, I just... I can't believe you're here," Lindsay whispered. "I was dreading the thought of going home all by myself. Sleeping in our bed all alone without you."

"I would have found a way to get home," he said, pressing another kiss to her forehead. "I wouldn't have left you alone."

She sniffled the tears that threatened to fall after her stressful day of travelling by herself. "You have no idea how much I love you."

"I think I do," he smiled. "'Cause I'm pretty sure I love you just the same."

"I still don't..." she wiped away the few stray tears that slid down her cheek. "I don't know how you managed this."

"I was in the wrong place at the right time," Danny shrugged as he bent down and set Lindsay's carry-on bag on his shoulder before grabbing his own and placing it on the same shoulder. He then took her hand and squeezed it affectionately. "Apparently we're incapable of travelling on a plane together..." he chuckled before adding, "Everything worked out pretty good if you ask me. Now I dunno about you babe, but I'm star-"

"I know, I know, you're starving to death and want pizza because you've been going through withdrawals from the best pizza in the world." She rolled her eyes. "You've also had very little money so I can only imagine how much you want to bitch about how 'stale pretzels just don't hit that spot'." she finished with a giggle.

Danny stood there for a moment, simply dumbfounded at how she'd managed to take the words right from his mouth.

"What?" she smirked. "Do you think you're the only one that's got a pretty good idea of what the deal is?" she shook her head. "I know you like I know the back of my hand, Danny Messer."

He arched an eyebrow as they made their way towards the exit. "You can't tell me you knew I was going to be stood here with flowers," he shook his head. "Sorry, but no."

She shook her head in response as she smelled her flowers. "No, I'll give you that one – this I had no idea about... but I knew you'd be requesting your staple food diet the second your feet touched the pavement."

"Do you blame me – Montana needs to be schooled in the Italian art of Pizza."

"Actually, it's not _that_ Italian, Danny... Traditionally pizza never had-"

"Now ain't the time for a History lesson, babe." He smirked as he hailed a cab outside of the airport terminal, "you can tell me all about how we've changed shit over a fat greasy slice of double pepperoni... sound like a deal?"

"I don't think I have much choice." She grinned, sighing in mock exasperation, but really – deep down, she was ecstatic that she was back home with her husband.

Looking at him you wouldn't have thought it, but that husband of her's was just full of surprises. And quite honestly, she loved him for it.

* * *

**A/N: I've just re-read this and I hope it's okay. I was told by a certain someone that I had to stop being hard on myself, hey Amanda? :p so I'm trying that out, but it's not too easy. I hope you enjoyed it... hopefully now they're back in New York, we can get the story going a little bit better now as I feel it lost steam for a while then. **

**Anyway, enough of my insecure babbling... thanks for reading! :) I'm saving, closing my eyes and posting. In that order :P **


	70. Anywhere But Here

**A/N: Something's wrong with Fred! Updating old stories? What is this? He is also feeling very nostalgic recently. I should probably apologise for severely neglecting this story; it's been over a year since I've updated it last (I know, a whole year! crazy!) anyway... I had some serious writers block with this and I know they say that the best way to get out of writer's block is to write through it (thanks webdlfan for that one!) but it just didn't happen... at all. I had a whole bunch of chapters until a person who shall remain nameless decided to restore my laptop to factory settings... so I ended up losing about hmm... 25 pre-written chapters. Angry? You bet. Anyway, this chapter was something I always wanted to post, but it never felt right. I've re-written it from scratch tonight and although it's early days; I may have just broken the writer's block. Cross your fingers and toes guys. Geeez, next thing you know I'll be updating WYHTG. **

**Okay wow, I just went to check and it's exactly a year since I updated this story. Let's just hold for a moment while I get rid of these creepy twilight zone goosebumps. Wow Fred. Smooth move there dude, smooth. **

**Anyway... huge thank you to those of you who reviewed last chapter. I know most of you will have forgotten you reviewed it, but you did! And I thank you! **kdzl, Thorne Lockehart, CTI-Jenn, prplerayne, mckenzie, webdlfan, afrozenheart412, 18lzytwner, brendanakai, JOE, jimmel, LostInLost18, Alex Joleta, MesserFamilyFan100.

**On with the show! :)**

* * *

**Anywhere But Here, Safetysuit**

"_I wonder if maybe, maybe I could be all you ever dreamed. Cause you are, beautiful inside, so lovely and I can't see why I'd do anything without you."_

* * *

She giggled as Danny slowly trailed his fingertips over their baby growing inside of her. Every time he'd put his whole hand on her protruding tummy, their baby would kick in response, gaining a massive grin from Danny. Lindsay took a deep breath as she shifted slightly on their bed, desperate to get comfy. She settled into the mountain of pillows Danny had arranged for her and placed her left hand on her baby bump protectively: just so she could admire her beautiful wedding ring.

She was slowly getting used to it. It almost felt... weird. She'd had rings in the past but never one on that finger. She was finding herself simply staring at the beautiful ring, finding more and more features about it with the longer she spent staring at it. It amazed her that one, she knew nothing about what her boyfriend had planned. And two, it amazed her that said boyfriend was now her husband.

A bubbling excitement spread through her as she turned slightly, letting her eyes fall upon him as he contently played with their daughter.

She reached out with her fingertips and trailed them across his face softly, sending shivers down his spine. He turned and smiled brightly at her. "Hi."

"I'm feeling left out," she admitted.

"You are?" he gasped as he moved further up the bed so that his eyes were in line with hers. "Well, we can't be having that."

She giggled as she tangled her fingers through his, her wedding ring sparkling in the light of the apartment.

"It's gorgeous, Danny." She whispered as they both stared at it for a moment. "It's so... it's... beautiful. It's perfect."

"Just like you. Perfect."

She blushed and rolled her eyes. "Danny..."

"Hey now, come on... Don't be getting all modest on me now."

Shaking her head, Lindsay hooked a finger underneath Danny's chin. "I really need to sort out her clothes. You're such a procrastination, Mr. Husband."

"Me?" he gasped, as if he was gravely offended. "I resent that."

"Why?" She giggled. "You know it's true."

"So what if I do," he smirked. "You know fine well that there's no-where else you'd rather be than lying here wasting time with me."

"I still can't believe you did it."

"Did what?" he smirked. "I've done a lot of things recently."

"No kidding," she returned his smirk. "I meant the way you got me to marry you," she said gazing down at her ring. "It doesn't seem real. When I went to Montana, it was like it didn't happen… but then being back here and driving past the courthouse, I just can't believe it. I mean it's like you had it all worked out. I can't imagine how nervous you was."

"I tried not to think about it," he admitted. "About you saying no, I mean."

"Did you think I'd say no."

"I thought there was a possibility," he nodded. "I mean you'd said no before; what made this time any different?"

"Other than the fact you lied to me and caught me off guard." She teased.

"Hey, did it, or did it not get you where I wanted you?"

She sighed with a twinkle in her eyes, "Yeah, but it'll make me question stuff you say from now on. And any mention of friends I will become highly suspicious."

"Whatever makes you happy." Danny smirked at his wife. His smirk however dropped slightly and he shifted in his position. "What made you say yes?"

"I knew you meant it," she said softly. "I knew that everything you said was coming straight from your heart and you meant everything you said to me."

"Really?" he implored.

"Yeah," she nodded. "It's exactly what I wanted from you. That's how I wanted you to propose. I wanted you to tell me all the things I wanted to hear. I wanted you to want me, not just step up to your responsibilities. Obviously I wanted you to do that too, but first and foremost, you were marrying me, and I wanted to be the focus… not a… I don't know what I'm trying to say."

"You wanted me to basically go away, grow up, stop bein' a wuss and appreciate our relationship properly. You wanted me to marry you for you, not you as the mother of my baby?"

She pursed her lips together before nodding, "Yeah, I think so. She sighed and merely sat back on their bed, giving Danny a moment to look at her. "I knew I was going to say yes as soon as you said that we made sense."

"You shoulda stopped me there," he teased.

"And miss out on all of the amazing things you said to me? No, no thank you."

"Would you believe me if I told you I hadn't rehearsed that over in my head a million times?"

"Probably not," she giggled. "It was slightly more sophisticated than the twenty questions we played the first time you asked me to marry you."

"I stepped my game up a little bit," he winked playfully.

"I'm glad you did. We both are," she said as she laid a hand on her stomach. The glow radiating from her was infectious to him. Her smile every time she spoke about their daughter nearly made him burst with pride.

And, as he lay on their bed with her, it made him wonder how he'd managed to do anything without her. She was beautiful. She challenged him everyday with her witty banter… not to mention she cracked him up with the stuff she said. Her country roots had given her a solid upbringing that he was positive would be reflected in their own daughter's upbringing. Despite everything he'd done in the past, she loved him with everything that she had… and most of all, she had the biggest heart he'd ever come across. To him, those characteristics were just a few of many things that he loved about her.

"I haven't said it before, but I'm sorry I left the day after we got married." Lindsay sighed sadly, bringing him out of his thoughts. "It's was the worst possible timing."

"We've got the rest of our lives now," Danny smiled at her. "And it's not as if it was a secret that you were going. I made my choice to propose and marry you that day. I should be sorry for springing it on you."

"I know but... at least now we can focus on starting out little family properly." She smiled before sighing. "Ugh, I should really go and sort her things out."

Danny offered her a supporting hand as she heaved herself up off the bed. He made sure he supported her until she was safely on her feet and waddling her way from their room.

"Do you need a hand?" he said, standing from the bed and following her into the hallway.

"No, don't be silly, you've done enough, Danny."

"It was kind of rhetorical," he smirked as his hand fell to her back as he led her down their small hallway to their daughter's bedroom.

"Surely you've got something else you need to be doing."

"Like what? I'd rather be here than anywhere else." He smiled fondly. "And let's face it, you're gonna call for me in fifteen seconds when you can't reach something so it's better me being here anyway."

"Are you sure?" she smiled softly.

"Positive," he said as he led her to their newly purchased rocking chair. "You sit there and supervise. How does that sound?"

"I do like supervising," she giggled as she took a seat and began rocking on the chair. Her hand fell to her stomach and she rubbed her belly in concentric circles. "I love you, Danny."

"I love you too, Montana."

* * *

**Let's hope this is the start of a revitalisation of this story, eh? I know I'd be excited with that *glares at Fred*. Hope you guys enjoyed this. I'd love to know what you thought about it :) Thanks for reading! **


	71. Hard To Love

**A/N: Wow guys, thank you all so much for such a warm response to the last chapter. It was a lovely surprise to see the amount of reviews that filtered into my inbox after updating this. I'm so, so, so glad you guys are all still interested in my mindless stories, even if I neglect them terribly. I think this chapter will make up for it a little. We're about to meet someone very special, if you catch my drift ;) **

**So, I better had start on thanking you all. I genuinely and wholeheartedly appreciate all of your wonderful, kind comments. They're a pleasure to receive (honestly, Fred's a review whore...) so thank you all so very much. Special mentions to: sweetlilloz, csifan1101, mckenzie, MesserFamilyFan100, CTI-Jenn, Thorne Lockeheart, 18lzytwner, brendanakai, LoveShipper, Gigglesforcsi and finally afrozenheart412. **

* * *

**Hard to Love – Lee Brice.**

_Girl you've given me a million second chances and I don't ever want to take you for granted, but I'm just a man; I'm just a man. I'm hard to love, hard to love, no, I don't make it easy and I couldn't do it if I stood where you stood. I'm hard to love, hard to love and you say that you need me. I don't deserve it, but I love that you love me good._

* * *

"You'll be alright, ten… nine… eight…"

Gritting her teeth together, Lindsay listened to Stella counting down the remaining seconds of her latest contraction.

"Three… two… one… okay, you're done. See, we're getting good at this."

Lying back on the bed, Lindsay let out a sigh of temporary relief. "Uh, we're done for now," she finally mustered up the energy to mutter the smart remark. "Until the next one…"

"Just think of the end result though," Stella smiled before turning back to the magazine she'd been reading to Lindsay. On her way up to Lindsay's private room, Stella had stopped by the Hospital gift shop and picked up a stack of things to keep Lindsay occupied over what Stella expected to be a long wait in the Maternity ward.

"So, what's next? Please let it be something mindnumbingly stupid."

"Oh this could be good," Stella glanced up from looking at the magazine. "An article about whether it's a good idea to get back with your ex."

"Hmm," Lindsay nodded as she twisted in her place uncomfortably. "And what's the verdict?"

"The jury is still out." Stella smirked. "The writer thinks it's a good idea, the other members of the office aren't so sure. What do you think?"

"Well, obviously I think it's a good idea," Lindsay laughed as she laid her hand on her stomach. "But I think it depends on the circumstances and the couple. Everyone's different."

"Yeah but kiddo, were you and Danny ever really broken up?"

"Oh yeah," Lindsay nodded. "We definitely were broken up for a while there."

"Were you though?"

"Yes." Lindsay said simply. "When Danny slept with Rikki, I can assure you that we definitely weren't together. At least, in my mind I tell myself that now. I mean looking back, we weren't even speaking; so that's hardly the grounds for a relationship. Plus, it makes it easier to stomach. I mean, I've totally forgiven him, but it doesn't stop it from hurting, you know?"

"Yeah well," Stella paused for a moment. "Who's laid in this hospital bed, sporting his ring and giving birth to his daughter?"

"I know," Lindsay offered Stella a smile to her pep talk as she rubbed her stomach. "I mean, that's a chapter that's closed now. Onwards and upwards... back to the article; obviously I think that it's not such a bad idea to get back with your ex. I mean, if it's meant to be, it's meant to be, right?"

"Absolutely," Stella nodded. "And I mean, you both let each other go and you ended up finding each other again, so that has to stand for something, right?"

"Exactly," Lindsay smiled. "And anyway, have you seen his ass? That ass is too hot to let go without a fight."

"How can you be in labor and dishing out comments like that?"

"I've gotta keep myself occupied somehow," Lindsay winked playfully. "My stomach's getting tight again. I'm predicting a contraction in about fifty – ow, ow,"

"You're fine, breathe in through your nose, out through your mouth," Stella soothed automatically. "Ten, nine, eight…"

Taking the countdown and momentary silence from Lindsay's part as a moment to just watch the scene playing out around her, Stella felt goosebumps attack her arms. A year ago, she would have never, ever thought that she would have seen her co-worker and friend pregnant with Danny's baby. With the way that Danny had treated Lindsay, Stella had thought Lindsay would have cut all ties and had nothing more to do with the guy. But just like usual, Lindsay had proved her wrong and had come out of the whole situation stronger than ever. Although their relationship was rocky to begin with, Stella had watched them develop from a shell of what they used to be to a supportive and loving married couple in just a matter of months; and it astounded her.

"-two, one. You're okay. Deep breath."

Lindsay let out a deep breath once again and settled against her cushions. "You'd think that this would get easier. I can't see that happening for some reason though."

Stella offered Lindsay a brief smile before sharing the thoughts she'd just been processing as she counted Lindsay through her contraction. "You know Linds; it astounds me at times that you and Danny are still together. You guys haven't had it easy; but somehow you've made it through."

Lindsay shrugged as she collected another ice chip from her collection within the cup and popped it in her mouth. "I was always raised with the notion that if something was broken, your first step was to fix it, not just throw it away. I guess I've carried it with me. Danny and I might have had a broken relationship at times, but it's nothing that we couldn't fix. It's a shame that more people don't try it rather than moving onto the next person without really spending time in fixing what they already have."

Stella, rather than offering a reply simply sat back in her chair and nodded thoughtfully for a moment. Confused by the reaction to her somewhat simple explanation of why she and Danny were still together, Lindsay pursed her lips together. "Did I kill the conversation?"

"No," Stella shook her head. "There's just nothing I can say to that."

"Why?"

"Because it's exactly the reason why I know for a fact that you're going to be just fine, Linds."

"Do you really think so?" Lindsay asked seriously, relating back to their previous conversation where Lindsay had confided in Stella about her worries of the impending motherhood that was about to be bestowed onto Lindsay.

"I absolutely know so," Stella said as she took Lindsay's hand. "Kiddo, that right there tells me that this little girl here is going to be under the greatest care going. You've got absolutely nothing to worry about, okay? Whatever is thrown at you, you're going to be just fine in handling it. Trust me."

"I just… I'm used to being able to do research and making sure I know exactly what I need to do and there are no books or research papers telling me exactly what to do once the baby is here."

"Because," Stella paused, "Nobody can tell you how to do it. Everyone is different and your daughter right here is different to the little girl that's being brought into the world right now just down the hallway. Things that will work for your daughter won't work for somebody else's. Not to mention you'll have different ways of raising your baby. Seriously, Lindsay – I've watched you grow these past few years and I couldn't be prouder of you. You're going to be an outstanding mother."

"I don't know whether it's the hormones or what," Lindsay said as she wiped her tearful eyes, "But that's sweet of you, Stel."

"We've come a far way since you were spilling your coffee in the break room on your first day."

"Yeah," Lindsay smiled at the memory. "We sure have. Some things don't change though; I still swear by comfortable shoes… and hopefully I'll continue to have at least four hours of sleep a night."

Before Stella could laugh in response, a knock sounded at the door. "Can I cut in?"

"But of course," Stella smiled as she stood from her seat next to Lindsay's bed. "Did you manage to track Mac down?"

"Yeah, he somehow managed to get himself lost. I found him by the third floor Nurses' station. Go figure," Danny shrugged as he settled on the opposite side to where Stella had been sitting with a muffin in his hand.

"What do you think you're gonna do with that?" Lindsay inquired, gesturing to his muffin.

"Um, I was thinking about eating it," he smirked at her. "Why? You want in? It's blueberry. I'll even give you the top bit of you want it; I know how that part is your favourite."

"No!" She implored, "Danny, I don't want to eat anything."

"Alright, well that's okay because it isn't yours. More for me," he commented as he broke some off and shoved it into his mouth.

"No, that's not the point. I'm starving but I don't want to eat anything."

Danny furrowed his brow before casting a glance in Stella's direction. He swallowed the muffin in his mouth before he smirked towards Stella. "Think you can translate that?"

"I don't want to eat much while I'm in labor," Lindsay explained. "I did research and…"

"Lindsay, for God's sake." Danny rolled his eyes as he shoved the muffin into her hand. "How long have you been hungry for?"

"Since before I was admitted."

"Do you see what I have to deal with?" Danny implored to Stella as he gestured towards Lindsay. "You're going to send me into cardiac arrest if you carry on. How the hell are you supposed to deliver a baby if you're starving and have no energy Linds?"

"Because I can drink energy drinks. I can have small, light meals… just not big stuff."

"Oh my god, eat the damn muffin," he grumbled. "I'm gonna have to watch you like a hawk."

"And I do believe this is my cue to leave," Stella excused herself before the domestic developed between her co-workers and friends. "He's right though, Lindsay. You need to make sure you have something to keep you going. You're in for a long, tiring journey… and it'll be even worse with nothing in your system." Stella pressed a kiss to the top of Lindsay's head. "We only fuss over you because we care."

"Alright, alright," Lindsay sighed as she picked up the muffin. "But I'm not eating it all."

"So long as you eat something," Stella offered a reassuring smile before excusing herself quietly from the room.

"So where have you been?" Lindsay inquired in between mouthfuls of muffin. "I was looking for you earlier."

"Where were you looking for me?" he smirked. "You couldn't have been looking for me very far?" He paused for a moment before his smirk dropped. "You didn't _need_ me, did you? Everything's okay isn't it?"

"Everything's fine," she smiled. "I was just wondering where you were. I was looking when Stella and I went on my hourly walk."

"I was with Adam. He was calming me down. For some insane reason I'd convinced myself we were having twins."

"Well, I can't say it'd be much of a surprise," Lindsay paused. "I mean, I'm surely big enough to be carting two babies around."

"That's what I said."

"You said I was fat?" she implored. "Danny!"

"What?" he spluttered. "You just – you said-"

"It doesn't mean you have to agree!" she scowled at him as he leaned back in his chair, rolling his eyes. "God."

"Alright, alright," he smiled. "So, how are you feeling? How are your contractions coming along?"

"Painful," she sighed sadly. "I'm due one any minute now."

Taking her hand, Danny squeezed it tight and offered her a supportive smile, "I'm ready for it, let's do it together."

* * *

Watching Lindsay sleep, albeit restfully was somewhat of a comfort to Danny. She'd been awake for a good seven hours, constantly battling the pain of contractions and her labor, and while he was proud of her for being so strong; he knew she was utterly exhausted. She'd been asleep for about fifteen minutes and he was beginning to hear the small sounds of her snores, telling him that she was drifting off into sleep; giving him time to reflect on the day so far.

It had been an absolute whirlwind of a day. One minute he was processing a scene with Hawkes in the Bronx and the next minute he had thirty missed calls from Lindsay with about ten voicemails, begging him to make it to the hospital in time. Seeing the thirty missed calls from Lindsay had initially sent his heart plummeting to his stomach – and fast. A million and one terrible things had sprung to mind, instantly making him fear the worst; but as he gathered the courage to listen to the voicemails she'd left him, he'd realised that it was exactly the opposite. The most magical thing in the world was about to happen.

Getting to the hospital was a complete and utter blur now. He couldn't remember which roads they took and where they made their turns. He couldn't even really recall navigating his way from wherever Hawkes had dropped him off at to the Women and Child unit of Trinity. The one moment of clarity was however, Lindsay being wheeled in the wheelchair with Adam by her side. The smile on her face had made him feel like the most important person in the world. It was clear that she was utterly relieved to see him there… and Danny figured that Adam was pretty relieved too for that matter. The poor guy had probably been seconds from a break down at the thought of being there during Lindsay's delivery without Danny there to take over.

Although there had only been a short distance between him and Lindsay, it had felt like miles as he tried to reach her. He hated the fact that he hadn't been there when her water had broken in the lab, but seeing her only just being moved into her room filled him with a sense of relief that he really hadn't missed much at all; which was quite the accomplishment, all things considering.

And now as he sat by her bed almost eight hours later, he realised that he wouldn't have missed any of waiting for anything in the world.

He licked his lips as his phone vibrated on his thigh where he had placed it about twenty minutes previous. The 'surprise' that he'd had in the works for the past month or so was finally coming to light and he couldn't wait to see Lindsay's face when she finally realised what it was he'd been planning. He hoped she had no idea, but knowing Lindsay, she would probably have an inkling of his plans… either way, it was the thought that mattered the most. He knew that she'd appreciate his efforts and love the fact he'd gone to such lengths for her.

Although he was doing better as a husband, he tried to keep himself aware of the fact that he wasn't ever really the best boyfriend. He had the most perfect of timings; just when Lindsay was comfortable in trusting him again; he'd shatter her trust all over again by another dick move. He often cursed himself when he thought about the things he'd done and said, but rather than dwell on his regrets, he tried to focus on the future – something that he could make a conscious effort to change. He wasn't easy to love – in fact, he was pretty sure he was the hardest person on earth to love. He was stubborn, awkward, hot-headed and the biggest pain in the ass going sometimes… but he had nothing but absolute adoration for the woman lying in the bed in front of him. The amount of chances she'd given him over the years astounded him and he hoped that he'd never have to ask her for a second chance again. He knew wholeheartedly that if the tables were turned, he wouldn't be able to do what Lindsay did. He knew that although she was physically incapable of doing so, but if she'd ever hurt him in the way that he had hurt her, it would be the hardest thing in the world to be able to open up to her and trust her again. There wasn't anything he could ever give her which would repay her for the way he'd treated her... other than proving to her that opening up to him and trusting him again after everything wasn't a mistake.

He'd taken her for granted; of that he was absolutely positive. It was undeniable that was an undeserving jackass and Lindsay could do much better than him. But somehow, she'd argued against the truth as she laid in front of him, currently in labor with a daughter that they'd created together.

Seeing her stir in front of him, he smiled softly at her as he tucked his phone away in his pocket.

"Hey," she murmured.

"Hey baby. How you feeling?"

"Like shit," she sighed. "How long was I asleep for?"

He glanced at his watched and a smile tugged at his lips. "About twenty minutes."

"Ugh, I was hoping I'd been asleep for an hour or six." She closed her eyes for a moment before throwing the sheets from her body and throwing her legs around the edge of the bed.

"Where you going?" he asked, edging off his chair, ready to accompany Lindsay wherever she was going.

"Bathroom, wanna come?" she smirked playfully over her shoulder.

"No thank you." He replied. "Although, do you need a hand?"

"No," her tone displaying a little frustration. "I'm not disabled, Danny; just pregnant."

"At least keep the door open," he asked.

"I know we're close, but I don't feel like you need to hear me peeing."

"Please?"

"Fine," she sighed heavily as she disappeared into the bathroom. "But I want you to know that you owe me big time for today."

"Already well aware of that, sweetheart," he said as he grabbed the remote and turned the TV in Lindsay's room on.

"What have you been doing while I was asleep?" she called from the bathroom.

"Thinking," he replied cryptically.

"About what?" she asked.

"Stuff,"

"Like?"

"Just stuff Montana."

"Yeah, but what stuff?" she replied as she emerged back into her room with wet hands. "The soap here smells pretty good considering we're in a hospital."

"I thought that earlier," he agreed. "And just stuff baby, okay? You don't need to worry about it." He stood automatically and made his way quickly to Lindsay's side as he helped her back into her bed. His hand instantly fell to the small of her back, supporting her as she walked steadily but slowly. "Honestly; it's nothing bad."

"I'm just curious." She said before gripping his hand tightly, "Contraction. Danny… contraction."

"I know," he said, as he took hold of her other hand and stood behind her as she leant forwards. "I got'cha baby, I won't let go."

"It hurts," she wailed as she squeezed his hands. "It hurts really bad Danny,"

"I know honey, I know." He pacified her with a calm and soothing voice. "Breathe in through your nose, out through your mouth. Come on, you know what to do…"

"They forgot to tell me about the pain-" she trailed off with a scream. "I can't believe you did this to me."

Pressing a kiss to her temple, he sighed heavily as she began to relax her body into him as the contraction began to even out. "I know baby, I'm sorry I did this to you too, but just imagine; in a few hours we're going to have a beautiful little girl. Surely that's gonna be worth it in the end. It might hurt now, but after that, we've got so much to look forward to. Just focus on that."

"I can also focus on the image of you having a vasectomy with no anaesthetic beforehand."

"Whatever gets you your kicks," he smirked as he helped her into bed. "How about I track down this Doctor of yours and see if we can get this show on the road here?"

She nodded miserably as she reached for her cup of now melted ice chips. Passing them to her, Danny looked in the cup and offered her a small smile. "You want some more ice?"

She nodded with a smile on her face. "I love you,"

"I love you too," he said as he leant down and pressed a lingering kiss to the top of her head. "More than I think you'll ever know."

"I know how much you love me," she turned her head upwards to face him before sealing her lips together with his. She left a lingering kiss there before finishing her train of thought. "Just like you know how much I love you."

"Hmm," he said softly as he reached for her lips again. "Maybe," he said. "I guess neither of us will ever know properly how much we adore each other, huh?"

She offered him a smile as he gave her one last parting kiss before heading out the door with her cup of melted ice chips.

"Hey Danny," she called out right as he shut the door. He opened it once again and poked his head through.

"Yeah?"

"I'm really glad you're here," she said softly. "I'm glad you wanted to be a part of her life."

"There's no-where else I'd be." He said softly before shutting the door behind him.

* * *

**The beginnings of Lucy, ladies and gentleman! Hope you enjoyed this one. Thoughts are, as always, welcomed and encouraged. Thanks for reading! :) **


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